


The Strange Girl Named Miu

by LucidRina



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Earth, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fire Powers, Healing, Master/Slave, Original Character(s), Psychic Abilities, Romance, Telekinesis, Water
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-09-13 10:17:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 27
Words: 48,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9119260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucidRina/pseuds/LucidRina
Summary: Tormented and mentally broken after witnessing the brutal murder of her family, Miu become's mute, all while swearing revenge on the men that killed her family. From being held captive at a young age to living in a village to face more abuse due to her strange and incredibly dangerous elemental powers'.   She soon finds herself in the clutches of Orochimaru who vows to help her reach that goal of revenge on those she resent. Or so he says. Miu then finds out that revenge only gets her into a deeper hell than she could have ever imagined.  Working as nothing but a mere slave, can Miu find her own freedom ? Who is this Sasuke she's been introduced to and why has he taken such a interest in her?  Will he be her salvation or  just another step closer to the darkness she's been trying to escape from?





	1. Miu and Sasuke

In the dark and empty corridor, a single girl sat on the base of a statue. Her greenish-blue eyes seemed to be the only source of light in the dark room. Miu shuffled in her sitting position as she waited for her Master's return. Normally, he would give her an order right away or even meet her in his quarters but today was different, Lord Orochimaru had been on edge for quite some time. She did wisely by staying away from him unless he called for her. Miu found herself fiddling with her clothes as she began to get more and more restless. Then she sensed it, they were coming, Lord Orochimaru and Kabuto headed in her direction, but they were not alone, there was another chakra she sensed, a strong and powerful one. Miu slowly rose to her feet as they got closer.

She ran her fingers through her hair as she rushed to adjust her appearance. Her straight orange-blonde chestnut hair, with two-sided bangs that fell to her shoulders, had to be perfect. Her currant red knee length dress was pulled at the hem just so as she adjusted her garnet red rope belt around her mid-drift. She pushed her red heels together and bowed slightly as Orochimaru entered the room.

"My adorable Miu, such a greeting," His soft voice always sent a chill down her spine. It was better than what he called his former slaves and experiments. "I called you here so you could meet someone very important," Miu slowly stood up straight and her eyes fell on a boy. A boy? A boy, he looked roughly her age. He had raven colored hair and cold black eyes, as he simply stared at her.

"This is Sasuke Uchiha,"

Miu forced herself to look at him, and moved her stiff body through his ice cold eyes and simply bowed. She had to, if Lord Orochimaru said he was important, he was important no questions should be asked. If he said the shoes on his feet were to be cleaned daily, there would be nos questions. His words were absolute. A law.

"Miu, starting today, Sasuke will be training under Lord Orochimaru, so please make sure he is comfortable at all times and make sure you get him what he needs, understood," Kabuto spoke up from behind Orochimaru, Miu nodded and looked into Sasuke's eye's once more before looking away. His eyes gave her goosebumps, the kind you get when you put ice on your teeth.

Kabuto chuckled at this, he must have noticed the look she was giving him. "Don't be frightened, Sasuke wouldn't harm you,"

She simply nodded but continued to stare back into the ground.

"Sasuke, think of Miu as your own personal assistant, anything you need, don't be afraid to call her," Miu hated his word choice. 'Anything'

"Miu, why don't you take Sasuke to his room, I'm sure he'd like to rest,"

Miu flinched and walked over towards a large door on the other side of room and turned to Sasuke.

Sasuke silently followed her, his cold eyes unchanging. Miu didn't dare to look up at him as she opened the door for him and they walked out.

Miu hurried along in front of him and walked down the hall, making sure she stayed a few feet away at all times. She shivered, if she got anymore colder she thought she'd freeze, she could feel his cold eyes staring daggers into her back. Another person who looked just as heartless as Orochimaru was not what she needed. After a period of silent walking, Miu slowly stopped at a door and opened it. The room was dark like all the other unoccupied rooms. She hurried over to a table beside the door and held her finger to the candle and it slowly began to light up. The room wasn't small, it was quite large, larger than her room. A door leading to what she assumed was a bathroom was open, and a large bed with white sheets sat in the middle of the room. Wait, white sheets? Miu walked over to the bed and examined the dusty sheets. Miu began to take them off until a dark voice spoke up, startling her.

"It's fine, leave it,"

Miu turned to Sasuke with a worried expression and back at the bed. He knew it was dusty but didn't care.

"I said it's fine, just get out," Miu lowered her head and nodded at his harsh tone, she slowly bowed before standing straight and walking out of the room, softly closing the door behind her.

From the looks of it, this boy was not friendly and wasn't going to be easy to deal with. Hopefully, he wasn't as demanding as Kabuto and Orochimaru.

Miu walked down the hall to where she sensed Kabuto. Knowing him, he'd have more information for her.

In a large room with three long couches and several bookshelves, sat Kabuto looking through a stack of books on a table. He looked up at Miu as she entered the door.

"....Miu, Sasuke is quite cold isn't he?" He said turning back to his books. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it, he'll be here for a long time, I assure you,"

To be honest, those weren't the words she wanted to hear.

"Especially now, you'll be his new right hand,"

Wait, those were the word's she didn't want to hear.

"You'll have a new schedule starting today, so listen carefully," Kabuto stood up from his seat and smirked at her as he pushed his glasses up.

"Since you'll be with Sasuke basically twenty-four seven, you are to make sure he gets anything he needs, and make sure you get the shopping done too, we're going to need more tools, you'll still be making meals for everyone, I'll be helping Lord Orochimaru from now on, so your main concern will be mostly Sasuke,"

Miu nodded and bowed. At least she got some good news from him. She wouldn't have to deal with Orochimaru's mood swings and visiting days at his experimental hideouts.

"Excellent,"

Miu turned to leave and a hand stopped her as Kabuto slammed his palm onto the door. He was fast, faster than her. Something she knew all too well.

"If anything should happen to Sasuke, you'll get punished....So make sure you're on your toes Miu," She knew what he meant. Her body began to shake slightly as it to remembered the pain she's gone through.

Miu stopped her body from shaking as his warm breath tickled the back of her neck. She continued to walk out of the door and hurried away. 

****

Later that evening, Miu held a bundle of towels in her arms. She was heading towards Sasuke's room. It was time for dinner and she had remembered his room wouldn't have new fresh towels, with him being new, it slipped her mind.

Beside the girl was a floating tray of food. It was taking all of the concentration to hold the food still beside her. So she tried to think only happy thoughts, flowers, kittens, and rainbows. Miu stopped in front of the door and tapped it with her foot. When Sasuke didn't reply she slowly pushed it open with her foot. The shower could be heard running in the next room. Quickly she put the towels down on the bedside table and turned to the tray of food in the air and slowly grasped it, the dishes clinked as she pulled it close to her chest and walked over to the large table by the door and put the tray down next to the candle. She examined the room to determine if it needed any more necessary items. Luckily, it did not.

The shower stopped running and Miu quickly grabbed a towel and stood by the bathroom door.

Sasuke exited the bathroom and looked her up and down, she wasn't facing him, her head was turned slightly to the side. He just took the towel she held out in front of her and wrapped it around himself.

Miu made a face that looked like she was letting out a sigh. An inaudible sigh.

Sasuke turned to the food and towels before looking back at her, the girl jumped as their eyes locked and she looked away.

"I don't need anything else," Miu nodded he didn't need to tell her twice, she quickly hurried toward the door.

Sasuke watched the door close behind her.

****

His first impression of her? He didn't care, he could care less for the mute girl. She was slender and average height. There was something about her that had him puzzled. What was it about this girl that made her 'different'

A word both Orochimaru and Kabuto used when they talked about her on the way into the hideout earlier that day.

Sasuke looked the girl in her eyes and she quickly averted her gaze.

"I don't need anything else," His voice was cold and stern, he could tell he scared the girl but he didn't care. His eyes fell onto the food she left him on the table as she left the room.

The food did good, his stomach made a soft growling noise as he dried the rest of his body and retrieve his black clothes from the bed.

****

Miu loved the feeling of the hot water as it ran down her body. After what seemed like a long, long day she was ready for bed. She turned off the hot water and the cool air gave her goose bumps as it hit her body. Her room was always cold, she had gotten used to it, being in that room for so long.

She stepped out of her bathroom and grabbed a towel from her small bed, wrapping it around her body. Her room was small indeed but she had gotten used to it, she had to. The whole room only contained a table, chair, and a potted plant. Well, a plant wasn't the word. A pot full of dirt and a single seed beside it.

Miu looked at the pot with a heavy face. She was determined to make it grow. Just the way her mother used to make them bloom. All the flowers in her childhood home. One day she wanted to be just as kind and warm like her mother. The cold air hit her body once more and she was back in her reality. One day when she escaped this place and found her own home, a place she could live peacefully. One day.

One day....


	2. Who

Miu sped fast toward Orochimaru, she had been summoned early that morning with a small white scaled snake, hissing beside her in bed. Something she would never get used to. As she hurried to the large hall, their official meeting place. Orochimaru and Kabuto stood inside. Miu bowed as she tried to catch her breathe.

"No need to panic my dear," Orochimaru said softly. "I was just calling you, you have another duty you must complete every morning," She pulled herself up and looked at him with a face of confusion. To her knowledge, she had been doing everything she was supposed to like she did every morning. What could she have missed? Then it hit her, Sasuke.

"You must wake Sasuke this early every morning unless told otherwise, he has much training to do and he is rather impatient, so he needs to be up early, why don't you accompany him back here," Miu simply nodded her head and began to hurry back towards Sasuke's room.

Orochimaru simply smiled at the girl as she disappeared down the hall.

"So? What will we do about her in the meantime Lord Orochimaru?"

"For now, keep her busy, and when the time is right, we'll get a good look at those abilities of hers," He said with a sly smile.

Miu knocked on the door, there was no answer, only silence, so she knocked again and slowly opened it. As she poked her head inside, she could see Sasuke sleeping in his bed. Quietly stepping inside she walked over to the sleeping boy. He was still asleep, his face didn't look like the boy she had met yesterday. Well, of course, his cold eyes didn't frighten her, they were closed. She leaned over and put her hand on his chest and suddenly she was in the air and she felt her back hitting the mattress, hard. Something cool was at her throat. Her eyes were wide with shock as she looked up at Sasuke's cold one's.

He was fast and strong, she didn't even have time to react. A kunai was pressed hard against her throat. Miu just blinked at him, she showed no fear as the weapon dared to end everything for her.

Miu then realized he was still half asleep, his eyes half open and staring at her with no emotion.

"....You....," He said softly as he stood up onto his feet. Miu put her hand to her throat and raised her head back up at Sasuke.

"Why are you waking me up?" He asked with a glare and groggy voice, putting his kunai onto the bedside table.

Miu made a motion for him to follow her. He raised an eyebrow as she climbed off the bed and walked to the door. Looking back at him for a second before stepping out of the door.

Once Sasuke got dressed and came out of his room, Miu led him to Orochimaru.

"Good morning Sasuke, sorry for the early awakening, but we must start your training,"

Sasuke just stepped in front of Miu to the center of the room. He was immediately ready as he lowered his head a bit.

Sasuke raised his head up and Miu could tell something was different, the air in the room shifted and his chakra changed, just a bit. Not to mention there was a disgustingly satisfied smile on Orochimaru's face. What happened?

She turned to the corner of the room and spotted her favorite sitting area. Miu jogged over to the spot and sat down on her legs.

"Let's get started shall we," Orochimaru spoke his smile had yet to fade. 

****

The training session dragged on until nearly evening. Sasuke was tired and sweating, he was kneeling on the ground, panting and wiping the sweat from his cheek.

"It's time to rest Sasuke, it's getting late and we have so much more to do tomorrow," Orochimaru and Kabuto quickly disappeared into the air. Miu figured this was her cue to get Sasuke's dinner prepared and do her chores. She pushed herself from the wall and walked over to him as he stood to his feet. Sasuke was still panting and close up, she could see the bruises and cuts on his body. Being who she was, she couldn't help but feel bad for him, even if he did try to end her life that morning. Sasuke just looked at her in the corner of his eye. Without looking at him, she grabbed his cut up hand and brought it up to her lips.

Sasuke looked at her with a confused expression before he began to realize his body was starting to feel light, and a warmth that shot up his body like waves. His soreness had disappeared and his cuts slowly began to fade away. Miu dropped his hand and gave him a small smile before making a motion for him to follow her out of the room. Sasuke stared at her and back at his hands. 'What was that?'

Miu stood outside of the room and bowed, Sasuke grabbed his door handle before giving her a strange look and stepping his room. Miu then quickly headed to the kitchen to prepare Sasuke's dinner.

****

Sasuke let the hot water hit his body, his tight muscles loosened and he looked back at his hands. 'All of the wounds are gone, what did she do?'

His interest in her slowly began to grow from this point. She was someone who could be very useful in the future and even now. Sasuke turned off his shower and the sound of his bedroom door was heard. He then stepped out of the shower and opened the door, Miu was standing outside of the bathroom, holding a towel close to her chest. Like last time, she turned her head when she gave it to him. He wrapped the towel around his body and she turned to the table in his room and the sound of dishes began to clink as they tapped together.

Sasuke slowly turned to her and watch her get his meal together on the table.

"You....Why are you here?" Miu stopped and turned her head to him. She made a face, a face full of hurt and sadness. "......You don't have to tell me if you don't want to,"

There was only one way she knew how to tell stories, even when she used to speak. A way that got her into trouble and made her mother smile.

Miu held out her hand. A small ball of flame began to appear in her palm. Sasuke just stared at it, soon the ball of flame began to move and a small girl appeared from the flame. The small flame girl was not alone, a woman and little boy appeared beside her. She had Sasuke's full attention she knew this because he stepped closer. The woman, the girl, and little boy danced together in a circle on her palm, suddenly three larger flames of men appeared and smashed the woman and boy, engulfing the two flames into their own large ones. The little girl ran off her palm and onto the other hand, all alone. The little girl began to weep and she laid on her hand, a man, from another flame appeared beside her, he looked oddly similar to Orochimaru, he swiped the girl up, she struggled and soon she stopped, her body went limp. He dropped the girl beside his feet and she continued to sob. Miu placed her hands together, putting the fire show to rest.

Sasuke simply stared at her, she couldn't tell he was thinking, his face was calm and he showed no emotion, she couldn't what he felt for her. Sad, angry or he just didn't care.

Sasuke blinked a long blink. "I don't need anything else, I'm going to bed,"

Miu lowered her head and nodded.

"....About this morning....," Miu looked back up at him as he stopped talking. She suddenly began to smile.

Sasuke sighed and looked away. "Stop smiling....It's nothing," She couldn't help it, he was trying to apologize. He wasn't as mean and heartless as she thought he was.

Miu walked out of the room with a smile still painted on her face. As the girl began to make her way down the hall, a thought struck her. Why was Sasuke here? Who was he? 

Hopefully, she could make Sasuke a comrade. And maybe, just maybe, he could get her out from under Orochimaru, forever.

She stopped in the hall and stared at the ground with a heart broken face. What was she thinking, if Sasuke came to Orochimaru on his own accord, he most certainly had no intention of leaving? Her heart fell into the pits of her stomach and she sighed an inaudible sigh. And even if they managed to escape, Orochimaru wouldn't rest until they were back in his clutches or dead. She knew that the hard way. She continued her solemn walk back to her dark room, where only a pot full of dirt greeted her. Miu dragged her feet over to the table and picked up the single seed, eyeing it as it were her last day on earth. Who know's, it's too early to say that unless she didn't wake up the next morning. Miu placed the seed back down beside the pot and climbed into her cold, hard bed. 

Praying for a day when everything would be over. Her pain, her sorrow. Or even delivering someone who could deliver her that freedom. She smiled at herself. Who could be strong enough to do that? Who?


	3. Training Session Part.1

Rising, rising is the moon,

Large & round, large & round, round round one,

Plate-like full moon will rise soon.

Hiding, hiding is the moon,

Behind the clouds, dark clouds, black clouds,

Plate-like full moon will hide soon.

Appearing, reappearing is the moon,

Large & round, large & round, round round one,

Plate-like full moon will rise soon.

Miu sat up, her mouth open as if she were screaming, nothing came out. She looked at her sweaty palms and put her hands over her face and sobbed. All she could think about was her mother. The sweet and gentle woman that sang to her every night. Her warm hands and amazing smile. She was just there and now she was gone.

****

Miu cautiously placed her hand on Sasuke's chest and he sat up, thinking quickly she put up her hands and the kunai made a loud noise as it banged against something hard. A crystal blue shield deflected the weapon just inches from her palms. Sasuke dropped his hand and his half-open eyes were now open.

"You...,"

Miu bowed her apology and she stepped back, making her motion for him to follow her.

Similar to yesterday, Sasuke followed her to the training room, standing there in the center of the room, Orochimaru, and Kabuto.

"Good morning Sasuke," Orochimaru said, in his disturbing way of talking to the boy. Sasuke just simply blinked at him.

Miu walked over to the corner of the room but stopped as Orochimaru spoke up.

"Miu dead, I have something else I need you to do today," She turned to him and looked at him with a worried expression. Who wouldn't be?

"I want you to go to the lab and work on your flame control with Kabuto," Miu nodded and clenched her hand together, she felt her heart racing. Whenever he wanted her to practice it meant she had to go up against one of his experiments again. Sasuke watched as Kabuto and Miu disappear from the room.

****

Miu panted as her entire body was engulfed in flames, she stared at the target on the wall. She lifted her hand's ups and a thin blast of flames flew into a wall.

Her flame scorched the wall and burned the target down, but that's all it did. Her flame was strong but not strong enough. Not strong enough to get her out of her and far away.

Miu stopped and her flame body began to dissipate, as soon as it did she fell to her knee's.

Her body was weak and her throat was dry. Out of all her abilities, this was one she truly did not like.

"Is that all you can do today Miu?" Kabuto spoke, if he meant that in a way to insult her she didn't take it that way. Was that really it? Why couldn't she do more? Why was she so weak?

Miu shook her head and forced herself to stand up. "Good, let's try contain your flame in a shield. Miu did what was instructed. A fist-sized flame ball hovered a few feet away from her face and she enclosed the flame in a shield. It was hard to concentrate on both, Kabuto could tell as the flame got smaller, the shield got bigger and vice versa. Miu began to pant as she felt the energy leaving her body almost all at once. 

Soon, they both disappeared the flame and the shield. Miu made a face of disappointment and tried to catch her breath again, her chest felt heavy and her thighs felt weak yet heavy. Somehow, she was standing.

"That's enough for today Miu, we'll try another time," Miu turned to his direction on the other side of the room, she was surprised to see Orochimaru and Sasuke had been standing beside Kabuto. Sasuke and Miu locked eyes. When did they get there, she was so focused on her flame she didn't even sense them enter the room.

"Your concentration is poor Miu if you can't learn something so simple you'll never learn to control those strange powers of yours," Orochimaru said softly. His voice may have been soft but his words were harsh and indeed to insult her level. What hurt her the most was that he was right.

She listened to his criticism without taking her eyes off Sasuke. Miu finally tore her eyes way and bowed. As if apologizing to Orochimaru.

It was getting late and she had to prepare dinner. So she walked towards the door and bowed to them again, slowly before leaving.

****

Miu sighed and knocked on Sasuke's door. No reply, she then opened the door and stepped inside. Sasuke sat up from his bed and watched her place the food down on the table. Miu bowed, her face was riddled with sadness. She could feel Sasuke's cold eyes watching her but she couldn't look at him, she was too embarrassed. 

"...There's no need to wake me in the morning, I won't be training,"

Miu nodded and turned to leave him to eat. "Hey,"

She stopped and looked back at him. "Tomorrow, take me somewhere we can go privately,"

Miu just gave him a surprised look, her fist clenched and she lowered her head. Somewhere privately? What were his intentions? Did she even want to know? 

"Don't be late," 

Miu nodded and left the room in a hurry. She hurried to her room and slammed the door behind her. She hoped no one called for her the rest of the night, she didn't want to be bothered. Some time away from everyone would do her so much good. Her chest was heavy again and she clutched her dress and collapsed on her bed. All she could ask herself was why. Why did she have to suffer? Why wasn't she strong and brave? The only thing she knew how to do was cry, and that's what she did. Her tears simply ran down into her bed, quickly falling to sleep.

****

That next morning, Miu dragged herself out of bed and went into the bathroom. The girl staring back at her looked disgusting, her face was stained with tears and her hair was incredibly messy from all the tossing and turning. Miu simply grabbed a towel from the towel bar behind her and quickly began to clean up.

Sasuke sat on the edge of his bed and tapped his foot impatiently, his arms folded over his chest. It was early and he has just forced himself to wake up. Something he didn't do normally. There was a knock on the door and he sighed.

"Come in," 

The door opened and Miu slowly entered the room. She couldn't look up at Sasuke. He stood up from his bed and she felt him walk towards her. Miu slammed her eyes shut and pressed her lips together until they turned white. 

"Let's go,"

Huh? Miu whirled around and spotted Sasuke heading out of the door. She quickly followed behind him, a bit confused. 

"Take me somewhere we won't be disturbed," He said without looking back at her. Miu quickly walked around in front of him and led his deeper into the hideout.

****

Miu and Sasuke stood in a spacious room with pillars and tables, a room Orochimaru used to use for storage. Her question was why Sasuke wanted to come to a secluded area.

"Watch carefully," Sasuke said as he walked towards one of the pillars and Miu's mouth made an o shape as Sasuke walked up the pillar, simply. So simply it looked nearly normal, he didn't stop there and he walked onto the ceiling just above her. 

Sasuke fell to the floor and landed on his feet with ease. Miu gave him a look he was able to read. 'How did he do that?'

"Chakra control, I'll teach you," Miu smiled but she titled her head. Why did he want to teach her something? What would he gain? 

"I saw what you did yesterday, your pretty weak," Miu blew into her cheeks and clenched her fist. She felt her fingertips heat up.

"So you need to learn to control your powers right? Chakra control is similar to that, so I'll show you,"

Miu calmed down, inside she knew he was right, but he didn't have to say so harshly. She listened carefully to his explanation. " In order to have good chakra control, a shinobi should only mold as much chakra as they need to perform a given ability. If they mold more chakra than is needed, the excess chakra is wasted and they will tire out faster from its loss. If they don't mold enough chakra, a technique will not be performed effectively, if at all, understand?" 

Miu nodded, she at least knew the basic and understood that much. He continued as she gazed at him like a child being read a bedtime story.

"If the stream of chakra is too weak, you'll lose your footing on the pillar and fall off. If it is too strong, you'll be pushed away from the pillar, eventually, the pillar will break around the point of contact and you'll fall," 

Miu nodded again and took a deep breath before heading over to a pillar. She nervously took a step onto the pillar and another and another. She began to smile as her body began to rise off the ground. 

Suddenly she felt her feet slip and she began to fall towards the ground. With a loud thud, she fell onto her butt, her mouth opened to let out a loud cry but nothing came out. Miu stood up and rubbed her aching tailbone. Sasuke was shaking his head in the center of the room. She looked up at him and back at the pillar. Her eyes were glowing with determination and she charged at the pillar once more.


	4. Training Session Part. 2

The large room almost echoed the sound the falling girl's body made as it connected with the floor. Miu rolled onto her side and her chest rose and fell rapidly, her body ached all over and even Sasuke could tell she was running low on chakra. Slowly, the girl rolled onto her knees and pushed herself up onto her feet with what little strength she had remaining. Sasuke unfolded his arms from his chest and pushed off the wall. 

"That's enough, we can continue tomorrow," Miu snapped her head up and shook her head. She wanted to do this, finish and prove to herself she wasn't weak. Sasuke stared into her bright eyes, the determination that lit up her eyes proved she truly wanted to continue even if her body didn't want her to.

"Let's go, it's late and you're exhausted," He was right. Her body was bruised and cut up, she had heavy bangs under her eyes. 

Sasuke watched her turn around and hurry towards the pillar, as soon as her foot touched the pillar, she was proud as she got higher and higher, and she was approaching the top. Strangely her vision got hazy and her body went limp. Sasuke quickly noticed her falling form coming down and fast. He was easily able to snag the falling girl in mid-air. 

As he landed on the floor and cradled her head onto his shoulder. Sasuke stared down at the faint girl's face. 

"Stubborn," 

Sasuke slid his hand under her legs and carried her close to his chest. He walked out of the large room and down the hall. Unfortunately, he didn't know where her room was, without thinking any further about it and he walked back to his room. 

****

Miu rolled onto her stomach and yawned. If she could groan and complain she would, her body ached and her feet felt sore. Miu pushed herself up from the bed and opened her eyes in a daze. Quickly realizing it, the room looked strangely different from the one she was used to. The room she was in belonged to none other than Sasuke. Miu pulled the blankets off her body. She froze, and examined her body, the cuts, and bruises that were on her seemed to have been patched up. Miu gently touched her legs and winced in pain. Who could have done this?...Sasuke. The room itself was empty. 

Then it hit her, what time was it? Miu leaped out of bed and towards the door. As her feet touched the ground with every step, pain shot up her legs and lower back. Unfortunately, she had no choice but ignore the searing pain she was in. After Miu whipped something up in the kitchen, she hurried back to Sasuke's room with the rattling tray of food. Her calves were also feeling the pain from the previous day. Hopefully, this day wasn't going to be another long one.  
As she approached the door of Sasuke's room, Miu placed the tray on her left hand and balanced it with her fingertips. With her other hand she opened the door, Sasuke sat at the table by the door his arms folded over his chest and a blank stare at the table, his head slowly rising to meet her gaze. He must have just returned, perfect, Miu gave him a surprised expression and hurried to place the food on the table and quickly bowed as low as she could go, despite her aching body. She hurriedly set up the food in front of him and stepped away.  
Sasuke eyed her once more before turning back to the table. While averting his gaze she noticed his room wasn't as clean as it normally was, the sheets were sprawled all over the place and there were dirty towels on the floor. Even though she had only known Sasuke for a short period she knew he was a clean individual. Had he done so much for her during her short recuperation time in his bed? Something, of course, she would have to thank him for....somehow  
She shrugged and walked over to the bed while giving Sasuke a quick glance from the corner of her eye.  
Sasuke slightly turned his head, her dark eyes following Miu around the room. Her body ached too much to do this manually, she had no choice, without another thought about it Miu decided to take the easy way out and raised her arms up and in an instant the sheets and pillows began to levitate. The dirty towels flew into a pile by the door and the bed began to neatly make itself. This had to be one of those days she was quite thankful for her abilities, no bending, no back breaking work today. Hopefully.  
A strange noise from her lower abdomen caused her to blush. She had forgotten to eat that morning due to her waking up so late.  
Sasuke must have heard such a loud rumble. Miu quickly put the sheet's on the bed neatly and put the pillows back on the bed.  
"Make sure you take care of yourself before coming to do your job, it's annoying to have to hear that while I'm eating," Sasuke spoke as he stood up from his chair. 

"Go back to bed, your assistance isn't needed today," Miu nodded and turned to him, bowing slightly. Without looking up she heard him leave the room. She stood back up and sighed of frustration. As her eyes fell onto the seat he previously sat in, she saw something.

Food, there was food left on his plate, had he done that on purpose, did the cold Sasuke actually leave some leftover bites for her to eat. A feeling came over her, a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time she almost mistook it for something else. The feeling you get when a person you hardly know gives you something you wouldn't expect them to do. A nice gesture, for the first time in such a long time, she felt happy. 

****

Miu laid in her bed with her eyes closed, sore, aching and exhausted, that's truly all she wanted to do today, just lay in bed until all her physical pain disappeared. If only all pain could fade away with sleep.

Drip.....Drip......Drip

A strange sound, Miu opened her eyes and slowly sat up in her bed. Water? There were no windows in her room, maybe the faucet was dripping. 

Drip...Drip....Drip 

Her eyes narrowed at the annoying sound, as she scanned the room, she found it. The ceiling was leaking over her table. Miu slithered out of bed, trying to avoid moving any aching body parts. As she made her way to the table. The water from the ceiling was leaking right into the dirt for her seed. Miu slides the pot over and picked up the seed. 

A loud knock on her door made her nearly leap out of her skin. Who would come to visit her? She put the seed back down and opened the door slowly. To her surprise, Sasuke stood in front of her door. 

"Let's go," He said as he turned on his heels. Miu put her hand out to protest but he had already begun walking away. She had a feeling she knew where he wanted to go with her, but her body really wanted to decline his training session.

****

Miu looked up at the pillar, she had made it to the top the previous day. Did she really make it up that high? Almost near the ceiling, there was a scratch, a mark to indicate the height she was able to reach.

"You made it pretty high up last time," Sasuke spoke from behind her. "So let's try something else today, using the same method as chakra control, use your telekinesis, I want to see you lift yourself,"

Miu only stared at him with her mouth hanging slightly open. She had never attempted to levitate herself or anybody else before, strictly inanimate objects. Trying to move her own body made her slightly scared. 

"What's wrong? You can't do it?" He asked, his tone sounded slightly taunting. Was he teasing her? Well, it sort of worked because her cheeks turned slightly red. Miu took a deep breath and held her hand out and she closed her eyes. Her body began to feel light, and her feet began to leave the ground. Miu straightens her back and she felt her lips form a smile. It wasn't hard at all, her body felt weightless as she leaned backward and flipped gently in the air. The beautiful smile on her lips faded away as she locked eyes with Sasuke, her body quickly became heavy and she fell to her knees. A thought came into her mind, if Sasuke hadn't taken the time to show her how to do these things, she wouldn't have learned so quickly. Miu just stared into his eyes and the room grew silent. Then, she asked herself one question. Why? Why was he doing this for her? Why was he taking this time to teach her such things? 

"Use those methods when your training next time," Miu nodded and she gave him a small smile. A smile that said. 'Thank you,'

"Let's try something else today,"

Miu looked at him in shock. There was more? With her aching body, all she wanted to do now was go back to her room. But, another voice inside her head scolded that thought, scolding her. How can anyone achieve true strength without some pain every now and then.

"Show me the flames you demonstrated for Kabuto, " Miu leaned over and sighed. If she wasn't sore and tired today, she was definitely going to be unable to move tomorrow.


	5. Fight!

Sasuke carried the sleeping girl in his arms, her head close to his chest and his arms under her legs. Another long day of her non-stop training lead to her collapsing again. Sasuke had to admit to himself, her stubbornness reminded him of a certain person. Miu shuffled in his arms, but had didn't make a sound. He looked up from her peaceful sleeping face. Sasuke pushed her door open gently and stepped into the room, he had never been in her room before. It was small, much smaller than his, he eased himself inside and placed the girl on the bed. He looked around the tiny room, his eyes fell on a worn and slightly torn photo of a woman, a woman and young boy who shared a striking resemblance to Miu. Sasuke remembered the fire she portrayed as her family Miu showed him a few days ago. Her family had died when she was so young. His dark eyes looked up and down her form before walking toward the door. 

Miu snapped her eyes open, she realized where she was and slowly sat up in her bed. Her body stung all over, she managed to slid off the bed. Her body was sweaty and hard, if felt like all her cells were hurting. Miu pushed off the bed and pushed her body into the shower for a much needed and deserved hot bath.

Orochimaru stared down at the monitor as the dark skinned creature as he roared over the dead bodies of other creatures.  
"This one show's promise, but he's a cannibalistic man, barely capable of thinking at all," Orochimaru spoke without turning his attention away from the screen. "I wonder how he'll do against our Miu....," He wondered out loud.

"You really want her to go up against something like that? What if she dies?" Kabuto asked with his hand on his hip. Orochimaru chuckled and nodded. "And what if she doesn't, if her powers are as powerful as I think they are, I'll have to examine her thoroughly," Kabuto smirked, satisfied with this answer from his leader.  
"I see...I'll bring her to the arena as soon as possible then," The boy turned to the door with a sickening smile on his face.

Miu walked down the halls with a food in a tray, heading towards Orochimaru's quarters. All her mind did was wander, thinking about her powers, her family and occasionally, Sasuke, who she noticed for some reason has had an eye on her recently. The door in front of her began to swing open and she stepped back and quickly regained her composure and held the tray of food tightly in her hands. 

"Ah, there you are Miu," Kabuto said with a happy tune in his throat. Miu looked up at him, he was smirking, a smirk when someone is up to something. Miu knew something was up his sleeve and it wasn't good. Not good for her. 

****

Miu felt her heart beating inside her chest. So hard it felt as if it were going to burst out of her chest. The large door in front of her began to make a loud creaking sound as it rose into the ceiling. She clenched her fist and slowly stepped into the dark and cold arena. Her footsteps echoed in the quiet room, she glanced around and shook as the door behind her fell down with loud thud. She hated these test, she hated being the lab rat for the snake. Whenever he had something he needed to test she was the first person he'd call for. Miu flinched as the door on the other side of the arena began to slide up with a loud, hideous creaking sound. Once the door was open, a low growling sound could be heard and a park of bright eyes glowed from the darkness. 

The man emerged from the darkness with one loud stomp at a time. Miu covered her mouth at the large grotesque monster as it slowly made it's way closer and closer inside the arena. Miu shivered as if the room had gotten colder and colder. The monster stood in the center of the arena, on a two feet, dark skin and spiky red-brown hair on it's head. The monster looked quite similar to a man, he opened his mouth and reveal sharp fangs and a salivating mouth, he was was glaring at her as if she were his last meal. Miu stepped back and in a blink of any eye the creature lunged at her with a loud grunt. She rolled away and watched him slam into the wall where she was standing, leaving a large hole. 

The creature was fast as soon as he realized he had missed his target he pulled a U-turn and bolted back towards the girl. Miu lifted her hands as he inched closer. A large shield appeared around her and he slammed her into the wall. Miu, with her shield still up looked up to see the creature was not done with his assault and he was above her, he began to slam his large clawed hands onto the shield, causing a loud echo that sounded like metal being scrapped over and over. 

The scared girl began to think as she noticed a small crack in the shield just above her head. She had to think of a way to get rid of this creature. Her eyes squeezed shut and in the dark a single figure appeared in her mind. 

Sasuke.

He had taught her so much the past few days, there had to be something there that could help her, something. An idea clicked into her brain almost instantly. Miu had to get a good distance between her and the creature, she pulled her arms back as pushed them forward as if she were physically pushing him, a strong burst of energy pushed him away and he growled, slamming his hands into the ground to stop himself from flying off his feet. Miu held her hands up and a large sphere shaped shield appeared around the beast, he growled and quickly began to slam his fist into the walls of the shield. Miu closed her eyes and she felt her fingertips beginning to fell warm and eventually she opened her eye's, the beast cried out as the fire ignited inside the shield. His entire body was quickly engulfed in flames. As his screeching got louder and louder, there was a loud and powerful explosion, causing Miu's body to fly back into the wall and sliding to the floor. 

The room grew silent and she pushed herself onto her knee's. She had won, she made through another trail of life or death today. Miu got onto her feet and walked toward the arena door she walked out of, Miu looked up at the door as she got closer the door didn't budge. 

Suddenly, she realized why, from the smoke on the other side of the room, the creature made a low growling sound, as it emerged from the smoke, he charged at her with only one arm and completely covered in second degree burns, as he ran saliva flew from his mouth and blood splattered everywhere from his wounds, Miu, to stunned to move gasped as he crashed into her, sending them to the ground. 

Miu opened her mouth to scream for help, but nothing came out, she pushed her forearms onto his bloody throat and tried to push the flailing man off her as he tried to snap at her throat with his crooked jaws. Her forearm slipped and he managed to bite down on her left shoulder, hard, his teeth sinking into her flesh, Miu quickly forced herself to move through the pain and pushed his head off her shoulder, unlatching his teeth from her skin, but not without making deep cuts on her shoulders. Blood poured from her wounds and she began to feel tears roll down her face. She was now holding his neck up with one hand and she felt her strength slipping away. All she could think about was that fact that she was going to die and be devoured, she began to panic and her heart was now beating in her ears, her eyes widen as she felt a sudden surge of power escape from her palms and everything stopped.

Miu's beautiful eyes widen at the man above her, a warm liquid began to spill over her entire torso. A lot of blood. Miu watched the body of the headless creature go limp and fall on the side of her, blood continued to pour out of the opening where his head should have been. Did she do that? What happened? Miu slowly sat up and began wheezing, her lungs felt as if someone was sitting on them, as she took quick breathes her ribs began to ache in pain. She looked down at her hands, a white light had slowly begun to dim away. The door to the arena began to open and she flinched. 

"Good job Miu, to be completely honest, I didn't think you would have lived through that," Kabuto chuckled. 

Miu looked up at him, tears rolling down her blood stained face. He was laughing, she had nearly lost her life and he was laughing, Miu jumped to her feet and rushed past Kabuto, holding her injured shoulder with blood, trails of blood following her. She wanted to run away, get as far away from these people as she possibly could. Somewhere safe. 

****

The hallway wall's were smeared in blood as Miu leaned against it for support, trying to get to her room, she was tired, aching. Her vision was blurry and fading in and out, she stumbled down the hall, even her legs felt numb, her blood loss was getting worse and worse. Miu's lips moved in a continuous pattern, over and over, desperately trying to speak.

'Help,'

But no voice was heard, tears continue to fall down her blood soaked body as she wobbled down the hall. A familiar presence caused her to freeze and she tore her half lidded eyes from the floor and slightly lifted her head, the only thing she could barely make out were the feet of figure in the hall, at that moment she didn't care, she didn't care if it was Orochimaru, or Kabuto coming to finish her off, she was welcoming it, she just wanted her miserable life to be over with already.

"Miu....," She heard the figure speak. Miu slowly raised her head at the blurry figure, she watched as it came closer and closer each time she blinked.

"Miu, what happened?"

Sasuke. 

As if a weight was lifted off her body, she smiled through her tear stained face and let herself fall.


	6. Chapter 6 Recovery

Sasuke pulled the blanket over the girl's nude body. Miu stayed sleeping after he had stripped her of the torn clothes and cleansed her body. He looked down at her bandaged shoulder and narrowed his eyes. From the injuries he found on her body, she had just been through a battle, he noticed a large purple bruise on her back. Miu's lips moved, no audible words left them, just movement, as if she were talking in her sleep. All he could do now was wait for her to awake from her deep sleep. 

****

A soft wet feeling washed over face, Miu slowly opened her eyes, blurry at first, a figure appeared in her view. Sasuke. He wiped her face with what she assumed was towel. Miu stared into his dark eyes as he stared down at her. Sasuke pulled his hand away and placed the towel beside her head. Miu flinched as her memories rushed back to her and she sat up abruptly. She looked around the room and locked eyes with him. 

"Don't worry, your fine, I managed to bandage up your wounds," He grabbed the towel and turned around, placing the towel onto the table by the door. She lowered her head and examined her body, Miu immediately began to cover her chest and her cheeks turned red. Sasuke glanced at her before slowly turning his head back to the towel on the table. "I'll get you some clothes," He said softly as he headed towards the door. Miu snapped her head up, she moved her mouth as if she were trying to call out to him, but he had already left the room. 

Miu winced in pain and dropped her hands. She turned to her injured shoulder and gently touched the bandages. She couldn't help but be puzzled that he tended her wounds, the sheets beneath her were stained in her red blood. Miu pulled the covers over her bare chest. Why did he do something so kind for her? Is how people normally treat each other? She bit her lower lip and slowly closed her eyes. Her mind was racing with thoughts and she noticed the new feelings she began feel in her chest. 

The door opened and Miu watch Sasuke walk inside with a plain white fabric in his hands. He walked over to the bedside and tossed the fabric at her, she lifted her uninjured arm up and grabbed it. 

"I couldn't find anything that looked your size, just something to get you back to your room," Miu nodded as he slowly turned away, facing the wall. She blushed, quickly pulling the fabric over her head and sliding off the bed. As her feet touched the ground she arched her back and fell onto her knee's. Sasuke must have heard the sound, he turned around and walked over from the spot he stood in. Miu's face was scrunched, he could tell she was in severe pain,the large bruise on her back was starting to show it's effect on her body. Miu suddenly felt her uninjured arm being lifted, she turned to Sasuke as he wrapped her arm around his neck. His other hand slipped underneath her knees and she felt herself being lifted off the ground. 

Miu's red cheeks that appeared earlier would be put to shame as her entire face was lit up in a cherry red mask. Sasuke looked down at her and she turned her head away, quickly beginning to struggle in his grasp. 

"I know it's a painful position, but just put up with it until I get you back into your room," Miu froze and he turned to the door. She bit her lower lip, her face still red she did her best to look away from him. 

"You're more trouble than your worth," He said bluntly, she turned to him with a frowning face. She froze up once more as she stared up into his face. He continued to stare into down the corridor. Miu had to admit to herself, up close Sasuke was extremely handsome. She shook her head and looked into her lap. What was she thinking? Sasuke was someone she had to serve, wait on hand and foot, she couldn't think of him as anyone other than that. So why? Why was her heart beating so loudly. Without realizing it, she put her head on his chest. She gasped and sat up. 

"It's fine," Sasuke said looking down at the girl. "If it makes you comfortable, just do it, we'll be there soon," He spoke sternly, and he blushed, nodding as she placed her head back against his chest, his warm chest soothed her, the aching in her back slowly started to fade away. She noticed something else quite soothing, the sound of his beating heart. Miu slowly began to feel her lips slowly form into a small smile. He was warm, his touch was strong but yet gentle. This feeling was something she didn't want to fade away just yet. Her wish hadn't been granted as she heard the door open and Sasuke walked into her bedroom, her small and cold room. Sasuke slowly walked over and placed her in a sitting position on the edge of her bed. Sasuke stood up straight and shifted his neck left and right. Was she heavy? 

"Get some rest, don't get out of bed until your feeling better....that's an order," Shocked Miu could only stare at him with wide eyes. It was hard to believe this was the same boy she met a while ago. He was like a completely different person, day by day, he continued to change around her. Miu reached up and grabbed his wrist, her fingers gently brushing against his fingers. Miu moved her mouth and he stared down at her, blankly. Her lips moved again. 'Thank you' 

Sasuke stared into brightly colored eyes as she continued to gently squeeze his hand. His hand suddenly began to tingle from his palms to his fingertips. A warm feeling rushed up his arm and his entire body began to radiate with warmth. They stood in the trance and Sasuke blinked, snapping out of the trance and standing back. 

'What was that?' He clenched his fist and eyed Miu as she looked at him with a worried expression. 

Sasuke silently headed toward the door and looked over his shoulder once more at Miu before opening the door and walking out of the door. 

Miu stared at her lap and she put her hand on her chest, her heart was continuing it's quick beating pace. 

****

Sasuke pushed open the door to Orochimaru's quarters, Kabuto narrowed his eyes while putting his hand on his hip. 

"You've got some nerve barging in here without at least knocking," Sasuke glared at him and turned his gaze to Orochimaru as he sat in a chair in front of Sasuke.

"Settle down Kabuto, it looks like Sasuke has something on his mind," 

"I want to know the reason Miu was so severely injured today, what happened?"

"Ah, well Sasuke, Miu is part of my experiment group, I use her to battle my experiments every now and then,"

"She certainly surprised us today, it was the first time she had to kill one in order to survive," Sasuke's eyes narrowed. 'Disgusting,'

"Miu will no longer be part of your experiment's, it's starting to affect my training," 

"What? Miu does--,"

"Alright, if Miu is what you want, she is all your' Sasuke," Orochimaru said standing up. 

"Lord Orochimaru, you can't be serious, Miu is a valuable subject in --,"

"Kabuto, silence, I've made my decision," Orochimaru said with a hiss to his subordinate. Kabuto pressed his lips together and turned to Sasuke as he began to head toward the door. 

"Sasuke, please use Miu to whatever manner you wish,"

"Hmph," Sasuke disappeared from the room leaving the two to their thoughts.

****

A few days had passed since Miu had seen Sasuke, she had been in and out her room to retrieve food for herself and focus on, what she was ordered to do, get better. The wound on her shoulder had healed entirely, her back was still sensitive of course but she managed to fight through the pain each passing day. Still, Sasuke hadn't even come to see her the past few day's, honestly she was worried. Which was why she was standing in front of his door with a tray of lunch. Miu could sense him on the other side of the door. She lifted her fist to the door and rapped gently. 

No answer. 

Miu slowly opened the door to the bedroom and stepped inside. Sasuke slept on his bed, quietly. She walked into the room slowly and placed the tray down on the table. She tiptoed toward the bed and leaned over the sleeping boy. Miu stared hard into his sleeping face. He looked so peaceful and calm, it was hard to believe she was staring into the face of the same boy. Miu felt her smile appearing and her cheeks turned rosy. As she looked down his body, she noticed some small cuts and bruises. He must have just come back from training, her eyes slowly came back to view his face. 

Sasuke's eyes were open, he stare blankly at her.

Miu's eyes widen and she locked eyes with him. Her face began to turn shades again and she leaped back as he slowly sat up.

She put her hand onto her chest, her heart felt close to bursting out from her body. Sasuke was a strange one. Miu exhaled and stood up straight and bowed at him. 

"Why are you in here?" He asked, pushing his body up by his elbows. Miu pointed to the tray and she walked back over to him. Sasuke stared at the food and laid back down. She noticed the pain face he made as he moved his body. The boy must've gone through a rough training session, he could barely move. 

Miu leaned on the bed and over Sasuke.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "What? Your to close," He said lifting his arm up to distance the two. The girl leaned over further and Sasuke watched as she leaned over and pressed her lips against his. Sasuke felt something warm slip through his lips and his eye narrowed.

'My strength is coming back...And my body...'

His body radiated something warm and strong, every muscle in his body relaxed and he felt everything regenerating, his chakra and his strength. Miu slowly pulled away and Sasuke sat up. No pain. No aching muscles. 

'How did she do that? It's just like the last time,' 

Miu simply smiled down at him innocently. 

'Who is this girl?'


	7. Chapter 7 Love & Kiss

Sasuke could barely breathe as he leaned against the pillar in the large training room. 

"Alright, that's enough for today, tomorrow we'll pick up where we left off Sasuke, rest well," Orochimaru turned to Miu who stood on the other side of the room, looking at Sasuke with a concern expression on her face. A small smirk appeared on his face and he vanished. 

Miu hurried to Sasuke's side. Sasuke looked at her in the corner of his eye, he could see the face she was making. He wiped sweat from his mouth and shook his head.

"I'm fine Miu, let's go," He straightened up and walked around her, heading towards the exit of the training room. She held her hands to her chest and looked at the floor where he stood. She couldn't understand why he worked so hard, bleeding so much and sweating until he was dehydrated. She was beginning to show much concern for him lately and he noticed, the extra food, more attention and attending his training session's more often then not. Even after Sasuke told her not to come anymore. Miu hurried after Sasuke and left the training room quickly.

When they arrived back into the room, Sasuke made his way to the bathroom and clenched his chest and groaned in pain. Miu gasped and rushed toward him. Sasuke growled and stood up straight, Miu flinched as he swung around grabbed her wrist.

"Tch!" He clenched his teeth and he slammed his lips against her's in a rough kiss. Miu blushed as she felt him use his weight to push the two onto his bed. Miu felt her chakra leaving her body and into his. Miu shifted under the boy as he sucked more and more chakra from her body. She herself began to feel weak as his lips pushed harder against her. 

Miu reached up with her free hand and grabbed his sleeve, trying to pull the boy away. The feeling that was rushing through every muscle, pore and cell in his body was indescribable. Sasuke opened his eyes slightly and stared down at her face. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her face was red. Sasuke slowly pulled himself from her lips, a string of chakra connecting them before disappearing into his mouth. Sasuke pushed himself off of her and looked down at her, Miu's chest rose and fell fast, Sasuke stared into her face as if in a trance. 

"Miu," She opened her eyes slowly and locked into his. His eyes looked as if he were in a daze, Sasuke suddenly blinked and pulled himself off the girl and onto his feet. Miu pushed herself up and watched him turn his back and head towards the bathroom.

"Bring me dinner and go get some rest, you're no longer needed until tomorrow morning," Without looking at her he walked into the bathroom and closed the door. 

Miu touched her lips with her index finger. Her lips stung a bit but she didn't care. Sasuke had been acting strange lately and now he was doing things like this. She didn't understand but she wanted to. 

****

The next morning, Miu stared into the dirt of her pot and back at the seed. So badly she wanted to see what this seed would become. The one person who could grow anything almost instantly was her beautiful mother, she could plant any sapling and seed and from those grew vegetables and fruits. Her mother, an incredible woman, from what she could remember, someone she was so very close to. Miu rested her head on her arms and smiled as an image began to appear behind her closed eyes.

~

"Mommy! The sun is out, can't we go out and play now?" The long haired woman sat at the kitchen table cutting the reddest tomatoes she had ever seen. A chuckle left her throat and she turned to her. "The ground is still wet, you'll have to stay inside today, why don't you help me cook dinner?" Miu pouted and climbed into a chair beside her. 

"Eew, these look gross, what are they?"

"Tomatoes, silly, and your just saying it looks gross because they aren't cooked," She picked up a whole tomato. Miu took it from her hand and gently squeezed it. "Did you grow these too?"

"I did," 

"How?"

"Oh? You want to see how I grow my veggies do you?" She ruffled her hair and turned to a pot on the table and pulled it close to her. "Do you want to know the secret to life Miu?"

"Secret to life?"

"Well, who really know's the secret to life, but my way of life is something more powerful than anything you've ever seen," 

"Wow, what is it?" 

Her mother looked at her daughter with eyes full of emotion and she smiled at her, her mother, of course, was always smiling but this smile was expressing something she couldn't quite understand. 

~

A rapping at the door snapped Miu out of her memories and she sat up abruptly. Quickly, she moved to the door and opened it. Outside of her door stood Sasuke, Miu smiled at him and bowed slightly. 

"Let's go, I'm training alone today," Miu nodded and walked out of her room. Sasuke turned opposite of the training room and she gave him a curious look. "We're going outside," Miu nearly squealed at his words. She hadn't been outside in months, stuck in the hideout and forbidden to leave unless she were to accompany Orochimaru. Excitedly, she followed close behind Sasuke with her smile glued to her face. Sasuke glanced at her in the corner of his eye. Miu locked eyes with him, she jolted and blushed, turning away from him. He turned his head back, facing forward. 

'She looks different,' Sasuke noted as he gave her another side glance. As they approached the hideout, Miu could see light peaking out from the cracks of the door. Sasuke grabbed the handle to the large door and began to pull it open, it made a loud noise as it slid open. He turned to Miu as if he was telling her to go first, she did. Taking a few steps out of the door, her hand blocked the bright sun as it blinded her. 

Sasuke walked out behind her and stood in front of her. "You'll get used to it soon, the sun will probably hurt your eyes for a while,"

Miu nodded and lowered her hand. Sasuke gazed into the girl's face as she continued to squint. In bright light, she looked different than the girl he had grown to know in the dark hideout. Her hair was a brighter color as were her eyes. Her lips were a beautiful pink color and her skin looked smooth and soft. 

Miu looked up at Sasuke as he stared down at her. She noticed his intense gaze. Why was he looking at her in such a way? She wondered to herself and she lifted her hand and grabbed his sleeve. Sasuke blinked and slowly stepped back. "Let's go," Sasuke headed deeper into the forest and Miu flinched at sudden sounds that had to be animals passing by and creeping through bushes and trees. Sasuke noticed this and sighed at the jumpy girl. 

"Calm down, I won't let anything happen to you," Miu turned to hear with teary eyes and nodded, Sasuke let out a groan. This was going to be a long day.

****

Kabuto stopped stirring the herbs and looked up. 'Who's chakra is this I sense?' He turned away from his medicine counter and walked towards the door, as he headed outside of the room, he could sense it, someone had entered the hideout. Kabuto pushed his glasses up and sighed.

"Lord Orochimaru is gone and Sasuke is out training, I guess I'll have to handle this," He said with a fake tone of annoyance and he walked down the hall

****

Miu sat beside Sasuke and watched as he meditated over a cliff by a loud, rushing waterfall. His face seemed quite peaceful, as he were asleep. She honestly like watching him look so relaxed, it made her feel at ease. He rarely looked so calm inside the hideout, but with her experience around Orochimaru and Kabuto, she understood about being on your toes at all times. Sasuke slowly opened his dark eyes and blinked a few times. Sasuke slowly stood up and walked beside the cliff. He lifted his hand and a loud chirping sound was heard. 

Miu got up from her sitting position, above her stood a small tree just a few inches taller than her. There was a small rustle in the tree and she turned her head. Another rustle was heard, she pushed herself on her tip toes to get a better look at the source of the sound. As she pushed some branches back, her eyes landed on a nest, Miu pushed herself up higher on her toes and inside the nest was a baby bird and a few unhatched eggs. The baby bird chirped and hopped around the small nest, a small smile appeared across Miu's face as the baby bird turned to her and titled it's head. She slowly slide her hand through the branches and the baby bird slowly made it's way to her hand. 

CAW!!

Sasuke turned to the large sound as he looked up from his hand.

A large black bird poked it's head in front of her hand and began to peck at her hand. Miu winced in pain and jumped back. Miu felt her footing disappear and she gasped. 

"Miu!!" Sasuke leaped over the cliff after the falling girl. Miu reached out for him as they both fell towards the water below. 

Miu tired to grabbed Sasuke's hand as he reached for her. Sasuke clenched his teeth and Miu slammed her eyes shut, waiting for the drop below. 

A pair of arms wrapped around her body and pulled her close to something hard. She and Sasuke were steadily falling and it was her fault. Miu felt her heart sink into her stomach as the two continued to fall, then there was a sudden jolt in her body. They were no longer falling, but floating. Miu opened her eyes slightly, she could make out the rushing river and ground below them. Miu turned to Sasuke, her breathe hitched in her throat and her eyes began to widen as he stared down at her. His appearance had changed drastically, the girl shook in his arms as she continued to stare. Sasuke's skin turned dark-grey and his hair grew and turned dark blue. His eyes also turned a dark grey and a dark, star-shaped mark appeared across the bridge of his nose. Miu could only watch as he glided with the wings on his back into a hole along side the river. 

Once Sasuke put Miu down, she collapsed onto her butt. Continuing to stare up at Sasuke as his appearance began to return to its original state. She had seen that similar appearance before. All she could do was stare at him with a terrified expression. Sasuke took a step toward her and she gasped, leaning over and falling onto the hard floor.


	8. Chapter 8 Growth

The sound of rushing water woke Miu, she could make out the dark cave, she slowly turned her head, Sasuke sat a few inches beside her, his head down, as if he were sleeping. Miu rolled onto her side and sat up, from the light of the sky outside, it was already sunset. She slowly crawled beside Sasuke and gently grabbed his forearm, rocking him. Sasuke looked up and blinked his eyes a few times and met her gaze.

"Your awake," She nodded and lowered her head, trying to hide her embarrassment. "Let's go, it's getting dark," As Sasuke stood up Miu quickly grabbed his hand and looked up at him. Sasuke stopped and turned to her as she stood up onto her feet. She moved her mouth and Sasuke immediately read them. 'I'm sorry'

"What you saw, was my curse mark, since you've been with Orochimaru so long, you're probably aware of it," Miu nodded, she knew what it was, but she didn't expect Sasuke to have one. There were so many questions she wanted to ask Sasuke herself, but how could she. So badly, she wanted to talk to him, know more about him. Miu's grip on Sasuke's hand tightened as she looked into his eyes. Sasuke's hand twitched and he lowered his head. 

"Just like you, I had a family once before," Sasuke began. "They were killed in a single night," Miu couldn't hold back her shock as he continued to speak. "I swore revenge on the man who killed my family, my own brother, I seek power, power to achieve my goal, I won't stop until I can get that," He lifted his head and turned to her. "You know the pain of being alone just as well as I do....We may use different methods in order to achieve power, so get stronger Miu, don't falter, you will be free one day," 

Miu's hand slowly pulled away from Sasuke's. He knew what she desired most, without even having to hear her voice. Without her having to tell him anything. He understood her. A single tear rolled down her face, but she wasn't sad, a smile slowly appeared on her face and she blushed.

Sasuke simply stared at her smiling face, her eyes were shut and tears rolled down her cheeks, but she didn't look sad. He lifted his hand and gently put his hand on her head. Even he had to admit, this girl was growing on him, day by day, she was beginning to smile more and more, and this smile, made her look so enchanting, so happy, as if she weren't still hurting, feeling the pain of lost loved ones, as if he were all she needed. Sasuke gently stroked her head and dropped his hand. 

".....Thank you....Sasuke,"

****

Kabuto sighed as he closed his door behind him, he walked over to a table in the center of the room, on the table was a large map. 

"I guess we'll have to relocate to a new hideout, we'll probably have to go deeper into the Land of Sound for a while,"

Kabuto put his hand to his mouth. "When Lord Orochimaru hear's about this, he won't be pleased either, I guess I'll have to tell Sasuke too of course," He grabbed the map and rolled it up. "How troublesome,"

****

Sasuke landed on the grass above the waterfall with his arm around Miu tightly. He stepped back and his cursed mark appearance began to disappear. "Don't stand so close to the edge, if you fell again, I'm not helping you," Sasuke said coldly. Miu pouted and sighed. He was so nice a moment again and now he was cold again. 

"If we don't get back soon, dinner will be late," She spoke. Her voice was serene and amazingly sweet. Sasuke would have to get used to hearing it, he wanted to hear more of her.

"...It's fine, I can eat a little later," Miu nodded and he walked back toward the hideout with Miu close behind.

When the two reached the door to the hideout, they were surprised to see the hole in the large door. 

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and they walked down the stairs and through the hole. Miu looked around, the halls looks undamaged. As they got further and further into the hideout she could sense Kabuto. 

"I can feel Kabuto, his chakra is stable, I don't think he's hurt," Miu said softly as they made their way toward Orochimaru's quarters. 

"Something happened here...," Sasuke muttered. "Keep your eyes open," 

Sasuke reached for Orochimaru's door and pushed it open, the two stepped inside, Kabuto stood in the center of the room, alone. 

"Sasuke, Miu, good timing, looks like we'll be moving to a new hideout," He pushed his glasses up and tossed a scroll into their direction. Sasuke grabbed the scroll out of the air and opened it. "Seems your friends followed you here Sasuke," 

'Sasuke's Friends?' Miu looked up at Sasuke as his eyes scanned the scroll. 

"I could care less about that," 

"Your a cold one,"

"Where's Orochimaru?"

"Don't get so bent out of shape, he'll be back soon, you two should pack whatever you need and head out, just follow the map and it should lead you right to the next location," Sasuke turned around on his heels and headed towards the door, Miu bowed at Kabuto before hurrying behind Sasuke. 

****

Miu groaned as she stood in her room, luckily she didn't have anything she wanted to bring. Her eyes landed on her dirt filled pot and seed. She slowly walked over and looked down at the pot, her fingertips dancing over the table. Miu picked up the seed and placed it inside the cold dirt. 

"So tell me, mom! What makes your vegetable grow so well,"The young girl's voice echoed in her head. Her mother turned to the pot and hovered her hand above it. 

"It's something you feel," She hinted as she waved her hand gently over the dirt, Miu gasped as something began to sprout from the dirt.

"Something this world desperately needs," The growing vines rose from the dirt and a bright red, plump tomato came to life.

"I use to love, a warm and amazing feeling to have," Her mother hummed as she closed her eyes.

"So...You love your vegetables?" Miu asked as she tilted her head. Her mother let out a hearty laugh and wrapped her arms around her stomach. Miu blushed as she realized her mother was making fun of her. "The love I have for my vegetables is a weak love, the love I have for something else is incredible," 

"What is it?!" Her mother smiled at her again. "I'm not telling you, that will spoil all the fun, you just have to experience it yourself one day,"

"Aww mom that's no fair, tell me!"

"Nope,"

The voices in her head slowly began to fade away. Miu tapped her fingers on the table and took a deep breath. 

"Love...," Miu raised her hands up above the pot and closed her eyes. Her hands began to tingle and she felt a warmth spreading throughout her body. This feeling felt so familiar and strong. She slowly opened her eyes and Miu yelled at the large tomato, it was the size of her head and slowly growing. 

"Pl-please wait!" She moved her hands away and it's growing speed increased, she screamed, rushing to put her hands back over it, it slowed down. Miu began to panic as several other tomatoes began to grow underneath that one.

"Uh oh!!"

****

Sasuke dropped several weapons into his bag and tightened it. He grabbed the straps and swung it over his back. 

A loud scream reached his ears and he snapped his head up. 

"Miu?" The ground rumbled and Sasuke turned to his bed, leaping back as the wall crumbled and collapsed, an incredibly large quantity of tomatoes slide through the hole and rolled into his room. 

"What the he--,"

Miu burst through the pile of tomatoes and pulled herself out, rolling down the hill of tomatoes and falling onto the floor in front of Sasuke's feet. Sasuke stared down at her with a face of both shock and confusion. 

Miu blushed and let out a giggled. 

"Soooorrrry Sasuke,"


	9. Chapter 9 Practice

Miu glared at the tree sapling as it slowly grew from the ground. Her hands hovered over it, coated in a dim white light. Sweat rolled down her forehead and she used her left hand to wipe it away. The tree sapling began to rapidly grow. Miu shrieked and put her hand back over it.

"Your concentration is poor Miu," A voice spoke in a tree branch above her. Sasuke leaned against the body of a tree with his hand folded over his chest. Miu darted her eyes back and forth between Sasuke and the tree that was now waist high. 

"Sa-Sasuke, you aren't helping...," Miu retorted. 

It had been a few weeks since they moved to their new hideout in the mountains and Miu practice everyday, from her plant power's, growing food for the four of them, Sasuke, Orochimaru, Kabuto and of course Miu herself. If she wasn't doing that, she trained alone or with Sasuke, practicing her elemental powers. She had grown quite good in the last few weeks.

Miu tried to reduce her power and the tree slowed down. She smiled at this and slowly tried to stop her power's and stop the tree from growing at the same time. Once she reduced her power all together and the tree ceased it's growing, she stepped back slowly. Miu sighed of relief and wiped the sweat from her face. 

"I did it Sasuke!" She cheered, looking up at the boy. 

"..Take another look," He said from above. The ground rumbled and Miu screamed as she was sprung into the air and into the branches of another tree. She groaned and untangled herself from the branches, ignoring the tiny scratches that marked her thighs and arms. Miu gasped as she turned to the tree she was growing. It was incredibly large, so large she could barely see the branches as it touched the sky. Sasuke and Miu leaped from their sitting positions and stood in front of the large thick tree.

"Why can't I get this?" Miu mumbled to herself and held her hands to her chest. Sasuke turned to her and back up at the tree.

'If she were to master all of power's she would be a very talented woman,' 

"Miu," She jumped as he suddenly called out to her. "Don't go crying over something like this, you'll get it eventually," 

She could never tell if he was encouraging her or not but she always found herself smiling at his words.

"I got it," 

"Let's go, it's getting late, I have training later and tomorrow morning," Sasuke turned to the forest and began walking back towards the hideout.

"Ah, would you like me to wake you?"

"No, just have lunch ready prepared when I return,"

"Understood," With that he disappeared into the tree's. Miu put her finger to her lips and sighed. She desired so strongly to control her powers. Like Sasuke, she too had a goal, when she got strong enough she would escape from Orochimaru, but lately every time she said these things to herself, she would be filled with sadness. The reason she soon figured out when his face appeared in her mind.

Sasuke.

He was the only reason why should had been hesitant to leave. She couldn't abandon him, not now.

****

Miu silently cooked in the kitchen, she hummed to herself peacefully, something she had never been able to do  
Miu silently cooked in the kitchen, she hummed to herself peacefully, something she had never been able to do. She dropped the chopped ingredients in the pot, grabbing the spoon beside the stove she began to stir. A smile crept onto her face as she thought of Sasuke, every meal she brought him, he would hold his plate out in front of her, his eyes pleading for more. A giggle left her body and her cheeks changed in color. 

'I hope his training is going well, he's always so exhausted afterwards,' Miu stopped stirring and her face got redder. 

'Why am I thinking about him like that....Sa-Sasuke is just someone I serve,' She touched her heart through her clothes.

'So....Why is my heart beating so face?' A loud timer interrupted her deep thoughts and she slowly turned off the fire. 'Why?'

****

Sasuke ate his food silently as Miu placed clean towels in his shelve beside his bed. Luckily, Sasuke was not a messy person, and he cleaned his room on his own every now and then. 

She stood up straight and turned back to check on Sasuke, not surprisingly he had already finished several bowls of was working on his side of rice. She was used to this, he had a big appetite due to is severe training methods. 

A knocking at the door interrupted her thoughts and Miu. This was odd, normally no one would come to Sasuke's quarter's. Miu paced over to the the door and opened it slowly.

Kabuto stood in front of the door with a look that she couldn't really read, he was either annoyed or panicked. 

"Sasuke, Lord Orochimaru has an assignment for you, it's urgent," Sasuke got up from his table and turned to Kabuto. Miu stepped back and let him enter the room.

"Some prisoner's escaped and he need you to dispose of them,"

"That's child's play," 

"It's because Lord Orochimaru can't handle this on his own right now," Kabuto spoke, his voice sounded like he were trying to speak calmly, forcefully. Miu could tell he did somewhat dislike Sasuke. 

"Why not take Miu with you, make it less boring," He added with a sly smile. Miu turned to Sasuke with a small nod. 

"Good, I'll give you the location," 

****

Sasuke and Kaori soared through the forest, heading to their destination as quickly a possible. Miu had to force her body to keep up with Sasuke, he was incredibly fast. 

"Miu, can you keep up with me?" Sasuke asked turning his head and looking at her from the corner of his eye. 

"Y-yes, we should be approaching the prison soon, so please be careful," Miu advised. 

"Don't worry about me," 

Sasuke spotted a clearing ahead and dropped down and Miu followed closely. The two stood in front of an entrance to a cave. 

The air felt eerie as they walked closer to the entrance. Sasuke stopped and held his hand out in front of Miu. She looked up at him, confused. 

"Sasuke? What is it?" Sasuke hadn't looked away from the entrance of the cave, Miu turned to where he stared. As the light of the moon lit it up slightly she gasped at the pile of bodies that lined the entrance of the cave. Sasuke's eye's quickly changed into his sharingan. 

Sasuke grabbed Miu, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaping out of the way, just in time as a loud crash was heard just where they stood. Miu looked down at the large man crouching in the hole he made.

Sasuke landed a few feet away, he glared at the large man, his body was a strange dark color, his appearance had a striking resemblance that to a curse mark transformation. 

"Miu stay back," Sasuke ordered and watched the man snarl and glare. Miu stepped back and the large man raced toward them, he was slow but with every step he took, the ground under his feet crumbled. Miu moved out of the way and Sasuke slid to the side, hurrying around him and his Chidori lighting up his hand. The large man began to turn around, surprised by Sasuke's speed. Sasuke deliver a sharp blow to his large ribs, cutting through his flesh and sending him flying back.

He skidded back on his heels and crashed into a tree, he growled and pushed himself up onto his feet once more, he once against charged at Sasuke like a rhino but he moved out of the way with ease. Sasuke widen his eyes as he turned to where he was running.

"Miu!" 

Miu threw herself to the side as he smashed into something, hard. 

"Miu! Get away from him!" 

She looked at Sasuke and hurried to her feet only to be grabbed by her arm. Miu struggled as he pulled her against his hard chest. A loud shrill left her throat as he squeezed her close to his hard body. Her bones felt like they were about to break, the man let out a dark chuckle and lowered his head, Miu moaned in disgust as his tongue slid up her cheek. 

Sasuke rushed toward him, he squeezed Miu and she cried out, Sasuke froze in steps and his glare hardened. 

'I need....to get him off me....Sasuke,' Miu weakly looked into Sasuke's red eyes and she gasped as an idea popped into her head. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Her body began to surge with warmth and in quickly increase in temperature and her body was engulfed in flames. The man turned to her as pain surged through his chest. His hand loosened it's grip on her, she lifted her hand and a large fireball emerged from her hand and slammed into his neck, he dropped and her flames dissipated. 

"...You....!!" He growled and lifted his large foot. 

"Miu!" Sasuke rushed toward her, Miu rolled onto her back and lifted her hands, as his foot came down in a powerful stomp it collided with a shield. Quickly getting irritate he slammed his foot down again. Miu grunted as she used what strength she had to keep his foot from scattering her shield. Just then, Sasuke appeared above him and took a deep breathe while forming hand signs quickly, an incredibly large flame rushed out of his mouth and onto the man, Miu kept her shield up, bracing herself for the impact. 

As the fire engulfed his body he howled and fell to his knee's. As the fire began to cease, Miu's shield vanished and she sat up.

"Miu, are hurt?" Sasuke asked hurrying towards her, Sasuke crouched down and studied her face. After he confirmed she was unharmed he stood up. 

"I'm okay, really," She got onto her feet and winced in pain. Her left forearm was slightly bruised and aching, she touched it and took her fingers away. Miu gently placed her fingertips on the wound and her finger tingled slightly, the wound began to fade away slowly. 

"Sorry, I got in the way Sasuke," She spoke sadly looking up at him. He stared at her for a minute and put his hand on her head. "It's fine, you did something useful in the end," 

Miu pouted and frowned. There it was again, nice one minute and cold the next. "Let's go back, we should report what happened here," 

****

Miu fell onto her bed, her back touching the cool sheets. She lifted her arm and stared up at her hand. 

'I managed to control my powers in such a situation,' A smile crept on her face and she rolled onto her side and squealed. 'I really did it! I'll get stronger in no time and I can finally be free,' As those thoughts left her, Miu slowly sat up and clenched her fist and her face saddened. What would happened if she left? What would happen to Sasuke? Miu bit her lower lip and sadly lowered her head.

Why? Was Sasuke all she could think about? What were the feelings she had for him recently? She had so many questions but no answer's.

It's love. 

A voice spoke. her mother's voice, Miu's face began to flush and she shook her head. 'I'm in love with Sasuke?'

'No....There's no way I could be....right?'


	10. Chapter 10 The Village

Miu stretched up above her head and sighed, she looked down at her vegetable garden and smiled. After what seemed like forever she had finally come to master her skill with growing plants. 'I've been out here for a while, it's probably late, I should probably head back to Sasuke,' She turned to the large exit of the cave and pulled the hood of her cloak over her head. 

As she stepped outside of of the cave and into the snow, she smiled at the bright full moon above. A strong gust of widen caused her to shiver. "It's cold, I better get back to the hideout before I catch a cold," 

"Help! Someone!" Miu froze. "Did I mishear?" She pondered as she stood still. "Please! Help us!!" A gasp left her lips and she looked around, Miu closed her eyes. Then, she felt it, the presence of two individuals. Without waiting she hurried toward the two as the voice continued to call out. 

A small boy held onto the ice and tried to pull himself out of the river. A young girl, smaller than him tried with what strength she had to pull the boy up, The ice cracked under her, the boy groaned and looked up at her. 

"Umeko! Just go, if you stay you'll fall in too,"

"No! I won't leave you big brother!" The little girl cried out, still pulling. The ice began to crack more under her and water seeped through the cracks. 

"Umeko hurry! Run!" The boy prayed, hoping she would flee. 

A large tree branch rushed over the ice and hovered above them. "Quickly, grab on!" They turned to the voice of the girl who stood on the river bank. Without another second wasted, they grabbed the tree branch and it receded back to the tree it grew from. As the two children fell into the snow below, they looked up at Miu. 

"Are you alright?" She asked, the boy was shivering and wet as he nodded. "Thank you miss!!" The girl smiled brightly at Miu. "It's nothing, you should get home and take care of your brother, he'll sick if he stays out any longer,"

"Ye-Yes, let's go Yuto! Hey Yuto are you listening?" The boy was gawking at Miu, he was still freezing but he ignore the cold. She was incredibly beautiful, her greenish-blue eyes and shoulder length, bright orange-blonde hair were a breathtaking combination with her bright pink lips and neutral angelic, alabaster skin.

"Y-yeah," Umeko grabbed his hand and pulled him back through the forest. Miu smiled as they soon disappeared over the hill. 

A memory flashed in front of her, her bright smile faded and was replaced with a sullen one. 

"Mio...,"

****

Miu let out a small sneeze, her head slammed into the wall and she groaned, cradling her forehead.

"Are you getting sick?" Sasuke asked turning his head toward her from his bed. 

"N-No, just a tickle in my nose," Miu pressed her lips together and as she stared at Sasuke, his eyes were closed, he was trying to sleep, he had just gotten back from his training session. Miu had to get a hold of the courage to ask him. 

"Sa-Sasuke," She stammered as she approached his bed. Sasuke didn't open his eyes. "I was wondering if I could have the day off tomorrow, th-there's something I wanted to do," Sasuke opened her right eye and turned to her. 

"Something you want to do? What is it?" 

"Ah, well....it's a bit personal," She muttered as she fiddled with her clothes. 

"Fine," Miu smiled and nodded. "Thank you!" Sasuke closed his eyes again. His chest began to slowly rise and fall, then she realized he had fallen asleep. A gentle smile appeared on Miu's face and slowly she began to fall into a trance, his sleeping face was always so strange to her. He looked so calm, kind and handsome. Miu stood up straight, what was she thinking. A blush crept on her face and she quietly walked to the door and closed it softly. 

Sasuke opened his eyes as the door closed. 'She's acting strange,'

****

The next morning, Miu stepped outside, the snow was bright as the light from the beaming sun above caused the snow to seem so bright, the enlivening wind caused Miu to pull her dark gray cloak closed. 

'I'll have to find a nearby village, hopefully I can get back in time for dinner,' 

Miu closed her eyes slowly, the wind blew gently. She sensed it, a nearby village somewhat small. 

'I'll head there first,'

****

Two small children ran toward a small shabby hut. Umeko clutched several different vegetables close to her chest as her brother held a loaf of bread in his arms. They stomped through the cold snow as they made their way to the hut. 

The two hurried inside and closed the door behind them. Umeko shook off the snow on her clothes and sighed as the fire from their fire pit warmed the hut. 

"Did you get a lot of food?" Umeko asked as she hurried to a small kitchen. Yuto sighed. "I managed to get a loaf of bread but that's all, the bakery shop owner was running around the shop all morning," 

"It's okay big brother, these thing's happen," Umeko pulled off her hood with her free hand, revealing neck length purple hair and dark green eyes. 

"I'll do better next time....Maybe it's time I practice hunting again,"

"...Big brother you got hurt last time you tired...Let's just stick to what we know," Umeko placed the food onto the table and turned to her brother as he made his way to the table. He pulled off his hood, revealing his short spiky hair and dark green eyes. 

"We'll go out again later and try to find more food," Yuto turned to her with a forced smile. Umeko simply nodded her head. 

****

Miu walked through the crowd of people, turning her head left and right, it had been a long time since she was in a village. Good memories hadn't come from that place. A twinge in her chest slowed her pace. 

"You brat's get back here!!" Miu turned her head to the yelling voice, two hooded small figures were running toward her, being chased by a large man holding a wooden stick. 

"Thief! Somebody stop them!" The smaller figure tripped over herself, as she flew forward, her hood flew off, Miu narrowed her eyes and watched as the larger on turned around and hurried back to her side.

"Umeko!"

"Run brother!" They gasped as the large man clutching the large stick hovered over them. 

"This is the last time you two brat's steal from me!!" He barked, he lifted his hand over his head. The two children braced for the hit and shut their eyes. The man gasped as his hand come down, Miu held up her forearm and the large stick broke in two from the impact.

"That's quite enough," Miu said sternly as the man stepped back. "You! Are you with them?" 

"Uh...N-no, but you shouldn't attack children so cruelly," 

"These kid are thieves! They've stole from all the shops around here, I just happened to catch them red-handed," 

Miu turned her head to the two children, the boy gazed into her eyes with an intense gaze of his own. 

"Alright, they'll return what they stole and in exchange you let them off the hook, just this once," Miu bowed, her head hanging low. "Please," She pleaded. The children could only watch her in awe. The shop owner could only mumble under his breath. 

"Fine, but if I see those brats around my shop again I'll pulverize 'em!" He bellowed with a furious face. He stormed past Miu and snatched the loaf of bread from underneath the small girl's cloak. The man gave them one more ferocious glare before stomping off. Miu watched him walk off around the corner and disappear. 

"Um....You're that girl, aren't you?" The young boy stood up, Miu turned around and locked eyes. "The one who saved us that night," 

****

A little later the three arrived at a small park, sitting together on a wooden bench. Miu removed her hand from the Umeko's knee. Umeko lifted her leg and examined it, she turned to Miu with a confused expression. "It shouldn't hurt anymore, right?" 

"How did you do that?" Yuto asked staring at his sister's knee bright and bug eyed.

Miu waved her hand back and forth. "With a lot practice," They grew quiet and Miu cleared her throat. "So, this is the second time we've met, I'm assuming it's just the two of you," Yuto stopped looking at his sister's knee and they both gave cheerless faces, staring at the ground. "Our mom died when Umeko was really little, and we've never met our father," This story sounded quite familiar to Miu, her face also became cheerless. "We live in a small house in the forest,"

"You've stolen all this time to survive?" Miu asked with a sad tone. Yuto just nodded and turned to Umeko. 

"We don't know how to cook well or grow vegetable's, so this was the only way I could support Umeko," As he stopped talking a low grumble was heard from the boy, he touched his stomach and blushed. A smile appeared on her face and she stood up from the bench. "Will you show me where you live, I think I can help you,"

Yuto pushed himself off the bench and stared at her in disbelief. "Really?" Miu nodded and held up her hand. "I'll help you in exchange,"

"We, don't have any money," Yuto said bashfully. 

"It's not money I want, just some information," The siblings locked eyes and shrugged. 

****

The siblings stood closely beside Miu in the kitchen. They gathered a pot of dirt and sat in on the table, Miu hovered her hand over the pot, the tingling sensation in her fingers began, her hand faintly glowed white and the pot shook, several sprouts began to spring from the dirt and the children's eyes began to light up, amazed. Several variety of vegetables grew from the sprout. She lowered her hand, Yuto ran over to the vegetables and lifted one, inspecting it. 

"It's....It's real!" Umeko hurried over to him and examined the food, her mouth nearly watering. "Alright...," Miu took off her cloak and hung it over her arm. "I'll teach you a few thing's," They stared up at her bright face's. Not knowing what to expect from the beautiful girl next.

Miu couldn't express the feelings that overcame her, teaching the children to cook and grow vegetables, fixing their small hut, and cleaning together. The children were filled with laughter and formed uncountable smiles. Something about them made her feel warm inside. Her family, her old house, and the love her and her brother showed to one another. Her brother, Mio, an energetic, smart and caring boy. 

"Miss Miu,"

Umeko's voice snapped her out of her memories and she turned from the fire to the little girl. "Are you okay?" 

"Yes, thank you," Miu stood up and noticed Yuto in the corner of the room, chopping food while cleaning the hut. He was a determined young man, that she could tell. "I have a question for you two," Miu began as she stood up from her sitting spot by the fire. "A house...Is there an abandoned house in the forest somewhere around here?" 

Yuto walked over to her, wiping sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. "I've never seen it....An abandoned house, but there's a elderly man deeper in the forest, he might know about one, he used to come check on Umeko and me," 

"I see, alright then, I should be going," Miu said turning to the door. 

"Wait! You're leaving?!" Umeko blurted out as she shot up. Miu turned to her with a surprised expression. "I have something important to do, I'll come back and visit one day Umeko, I promise," 

"What if big brother and I run out of food! Or what if the hut falls over!? What will we do then!?" The panicked girl began to ramble, her breathing heavy and shaky. 

"Umeko...,"

"I don't want you to leave yet," Her eyes welled up and she hugged herself. Miu pulled her cloak over her body and smiled, she turned on her heels and walked outside, the two children followed her to the door, they stuck their heads out and watched Miu stand beside the house. Miu, with a slow wave of her hand, the snow melted slightly. The dirt and grass underneath completely visible. 

"With this, when spring come's you'll have your very own garden," Miu said without turning to them. "A gift from me to you," She stepped back and turned away from the house, slowly making her way down the snow covered road. 

Umeko ran outside, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Thank you big sister Miu!! We'll never forget you!!" Without turning back, Miu simply smiled. Her heart fluttering at the word's 'big sister'. 

Yuto gasped as the hut shook and rattled. The food on the floor hardened and the walls stood up straight and strong, the roof, riddled with small holes began to close up. 

"She....Did Miu do that?" He looked around the newly remodeled hut and smiled, tears rolling down his cheeks. 'Mom! We're going to be okay...,'


	11. Chapter 11 A New Beginning

Miu sighed loudly under the setting sun. 'If I don't hurry Sasuke is going to have a late dinner,' A small hunched over elderly man sat on a rock, groaning. Miu hurried over to the man and leaned over. "Are you okay mister?"

"Eh? Well, hello there Missy,"

"He-hello, are you alright? Are you hurt?" He looked up at her, squinting his eyes. "Eh? I'm fine, just twisted my ankle a bit," 

Miu looked down at his leg, she assumed he'd fallen as she notice blood rolling down his knee. 

"Here, let me help," She put her hand over his knee and watched as the small wound on his knee faded away. "Well! That's some kind of magic trick there Missy," 

Miu giggled and stood up straight. "Can you walk now?" The man mumbled and put his hand to his chin. To her surprise, he sprung to his feet and gave a heartfelt chuckle. 

"Mr. Arata's back to his ole self!" He shouted, putting his hands on his hips. 

"Um...Mr. Arata is it?" 

"That's me!"

"Yes, I'm aware," Miu said softly. "Would you happen to know of an old abandoned house nearby?"

"Hm? An abandoned house?" He made a humming noise as if he were thinking. "Ah! I do, there's one just a few clicks deep inside this forest," 

"Really? Thank you," Miu began to walk around him and stopped as he spoke.

"Be quite careful Missy, rumor has it there's ghost in them forest's," This dark and serious tone sent chills down her spine and she swallowed hard. "Gho-ghost?" 

"Aye, just be careful, that house was owned by someone who no longer lives on this earth," Miu nodded and groaned. "T-thanks for the information," She turned back towards the forest and gave it one more look before heading inside. Arata watched her leave and made another humming noise. "That girl looks so familiar...I never got her name....," He looked down at the knee his wound had previously been. "So familiar," 

****

Miu stomped through the thick snow as she made her way through the forest. "The snow is nearly waist high up here! Ugh! It's freezing," She looked up at the sky between the tree's. It was getting darker, a loud snapping sound caused her to freeze and she turned to the sound. A female deer poked her head out along with a smaller one, prancing through the snow. A sigh of relief left Miu and she shook her head. 

'Don't get scared now....Okay,' Miu leaped high into a tree and scanned the area. "Alright, I'll have to go high, maybe I can spot the house from up here," 

She leaped through the tree's and as her foot touched a tree branch she felt herself slip. With a loud scream, she fell down into the cold snow with a soft thud.

"Ugh!" Pain shot through her back and she rubbed it. "Ow!! Okay, Okay, I guess I'm going low instead," Her eyes caught the glimpse of a large carving of words in a tree. Squinting her eyes she managed to make out the words. 

'Happy Birthday Miu' 

****

Miu poked her head around the corner and scanned the hallway. 'Nobody is here yet,' She tiptoed around the corner and quietly left her bedroom. As she darted behind the couch in the living room, she took a deep breath and peeked over the couch. Empty. The house was empty. Miu smiled big and hurried to the kitchen, suddenly she tripped and her foot was pulled, Miu screamed as her body flew up and she dangled a few inches from the floor. 

"Moooooom! Mio set up a trap in the house again!!" 

A woman with long hair charged from another room into the kitchen and groaned. 

"Mio!! What's the meaning of this?!" A boy chuckling appeared from behind a bookshelf in the living room and hurried into the kitchen. "I only did it because Miu was trying to get a sneak peek of our birthday cake!" 

Miu blushed and pouted. 

"I was not!" 

"Was to!" 

The woman untied the knot around her daughter's ankle and Miu fell to the floor with an 'ooof' escaping her mouth. Mio let out a loud laugh as he held his stomach. "Gotcha!"

Miu stood up with a stomp. "Your such a jerk Mio!! I wish we had different birthdays!!" She stormed off and the door to her bedroom slammed shut. 

"She's such a baby," The boy proclaimed, hoping his sister could hear as he folded his arms behind his head. "You're too rough Mio, she's just a girl, you do pranks every year," His mother spoke gently with a stern face.

"You always take Miu's side, it was just a joke," 

"Instead of jokes and pranks, do something kind for your sister, I bet she'd appreciate it," The boy groaned and watched his mother walk out of the room. 

"Something kind?"

****

Miu let out an annoyed groan as her hair was pulled by a long branch. She pulled her hair free and continued her way through the tree's. The sun had disappeared and the night had set in, she lit her way with a small fireball in her hand. Another noise of something snapping caught her attention and she gasped, turning to the sound. Nothing. Miu slowly turned back around and her eyes locked with an elderly man. 

An earth shattering scream left her throat as she leaped nearly a yard back. 

"Missy, I found ya!!" 

"M-M-M-Mr. Arata!!? What do you think your doing, you nearly gave me a heart attack," She stuttered, clutching her heart. 

"I've been looking for ya, I remembered something important,"

"Something important?" Miu gathered her composure and stood on her feet. He nodded and stepped forward. "Weren't you the young girl who lived in that house a few years ago,"

"Me?"

"Well yes you! I remember, you look just like the woman who grew me fresh foods every week, Ah, such a rare beauty she was," He mused as a blush appeared on his face. 

"My mother...," Miu mumbled. 

"She once patched up my arm wound the same way you did, I was so grateful to her," He chuckled. "I remember the day I came to visit....on that fateful day," As those words left his mouth, she knew what he meant and she felt a twinge in her heart.

"I came to visit them, and I was left speechless, who could have done such a thing to such a beautiful family, I had to bury their bodies and give a proper send off," 

"You buried them!? Where? Show me where?" Miu insisted, rushing over and grabbing his hand and squeezing tightly. 

****

Miu stood on top of the cliff and stared down at the two graves, tears rolled down her cheeks. "So you were the young girl, I had a feeling, you look just like your mother," Arata spoke gently. The wind blew softly as if caressing her cheek. 

Miu pressed her lips together and lowered her head. "I so badly wanted to make the men who did this to them pay,"

"Revenge hmm?" He spoke the word as if it were something very familiar to him. "A path one must always avoid," She felt him step closer. "Your mother, was an incredibly kind and gentle woman, is she could speak to us now, what do you think she'd say Missy?" 

Miu clenched her fist, her nails dug into her palms as she remembered her mother's last words to her. 

"Live,"

Her sobbing became uncontrollable and she wrapped her arms around herself. 'Mom, big brother! I'm sorry' A warm feeling ran through her and she dropped to her knee's. 

"Hmm? Who's this young man," Arata said lifting his head up. 

"...Did I take too long to come back?....," Miu whispered through her sobs. "Sorry, Sasuke," He stood behind Miu, hovering over her. 

"I don't know what I want anymore, even if I get to obtain my freedom, what's left for me? Everyone's gone," 

The two men stayed quiet and listened to her cries. 

"Come with me," Sasuke spoke. "Stay by my side and join me," 

Miu turned her head to Sasuke and their eyes locked. "Stay with you?" Sasuke lowered his hand from behind his cloak, Miu stared at it and at him. She cautiously took his hand and he gently pulled her up and against his chest. 

"Sasuke...How did you find me?"

"I heard you scream," He replied as she stepped back. A small blushed appeared on her face and she smiled. "You were looking for me all this time? What about your training?"

"I finished early, let's go back," 

"....Alright," She turned to the graves and smiled. 'Mom, I found a friend, I'll live just like you wanted me to,' 

"Goodbye Mr. Arata, thank you for everything," 

"It's nothing Missy, no need to thank me,"

"Oh....There are two children down by the village, could you check on them every now and then?" Sasuke was already walking off down the cliff and Miu bowed to Arata and hurried away. 

Arata watched her leave and turned to the large full moon and starry sky. 

"Miss Mikura, your daughter will have to come to face great challenges to find her place in the world, but she will be fine, I can tell, she'll live and make you proud,"

****

Miu hopped down from a small rock and slipped, she squealed as she leaned forward and in the blink of an eye Sasuke wrapped his arms around her. A blush crept across her cheeks, they were inches away from each other. Sasuke let her down onto her feet and turned away. 

"Sa-Sasuke, what did you mean back there, about me joining you,"

"....It's just what I said, join me....or take your freedom," Miu grabbed his cloak and gasped.

"My freedom?! But Sasuke, I'm confused how can you--,"

"I'll kill Orochimaru and when I do....You can go free, if you so choose," She was at a lost for words as he spoke calmly to her. 

"It's your choice Miu," She looked into his dark eyes and could tell her was completely serious. "Sasuke...I...don't...,"

"You don't have to choose right now," He said calmly before walking away again. Stunned, many thoughts ran through her mind. What was her choice? Freedom or staying beside Sasuke?

Sasuke had already walked a few feet away from her, until she called out to him, Sasuke stopped and turned to her. 

"I'll stay, I'll stay with you....I-If it's okay...," Her face was completely flushed and she began to mumbled her words. Sasuke let out a noise and turned around. 

"Hmph, do what you want," He said walking off. Miu groaned and hung her head. "He's cold again...,"

"Miu!" She snapped her head up to his dark voice.

"Come," Sasuke continued to walk and a small smile appeared on Miu's face. "...Coming!!" She jogged from behind him, her smile still shining on her face. Sasuke looked at her and put his hand on her head.

'Mom, I'll live no matter what! I'll start over from today, a new beginning!'

****

"Such a strange girl that Miu....," Arata spoke as he stared down at the grave's. Where Miu's tears had fallen the snow melted, and flowers bloomed. 

"She is life itself isn't she? This world is about to become chaotic....,"


	12. 2 And A Half Years

The sleeping girl turned under her sheets, her body felt snug in her amazingly soft bed, the plush pillows under her head almost sent her into a comatose state whenever she laid her head down. This room was quite large for just her, she was so used to the mere servant's quarter's Orochimaru forced her to sleep in. Compared to this, those rooms were dungeons. Her lower back length hair laid scattered over her white sheets. After a long day of working for the snake, running his errands and keeping other shinobi away from the hideout, Miu loved hopping into her soft bed. Slowly, the image of her friend and the one she served entered her dreams. 

Sasuke Uchiha. 

He hadn't come back after being sent off to handle something for Orochimaru. As usual, Orochimaru was getting weaker and require more assistance. So this leads to Sasuke and Miu to do a lot of his dirty work. Miu's left hand under her pillow twitch and her fingers wrapped around the handle of a kunai, the sound of her bedroom door opening was the reason for this. Over the lengthy years Miu knew Sasuke, she picked up a thing or two about being cautious and prepare for anything and almost everything. Other than being her friend and master, he was her mentor and she, his pupil. Sasuke knew this, he even took the time to scold her after a battle and explaining what she did wrong, sometimes harshly, he even went as far as to punish her, making her stand behind him in a battle instead of entering the fray herself. 

As the person crept quietly in her room, step by step, Miu shifted and as she sensed it looming over her, she struck. 

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the room.

"Y-you startled me," she slowly let her hand fall as her eyebrows lifted. "Sasuke," Sasuke stared at her with a deadpan expression. He sheathed his sword and dropped his hands. "Your slow, next time move faster, earlier," Miu sighed, there he goes again. "Yes, I got it," A small smile appeared on her face as she met his eyes. "It's so late, are you just getting back?"

"Yeah," 

"Did you get injured?" She crawled onto her knees and examined his body closely with her blue-green eyes. Sasuke's hand twitched and he slowly reached into his white long-sleeved shirt. Miu turned her head slightly as her eyes looked his torso over, her cheeks flushing. Sasuke pulled his hand out of his shirt and Miu's eye's gleamed in the dark room. 

"Ah! You brought me ice cream!?" The small container of vanilla bean ice cream sat in his palm, Miu took it from his hand and her arms wrapped around his neck. "Thank you, Sasuke!"

"Alright, alright get off," He grumbled grabbing her forearms and untangling them from around his neck. Miu sat down on her legs and opened the container. She took a small white spoon inside of the top and took a scoop, sliding it into her mouth. "Sasuke is there anything else you need? Would you like a small dinner?"

"No, I'm going to bed, just bring me a bigger breakfast tomorrow morning," He ordered as he walked towards the door. 

"Sasuke," Her turned around and stared at her in the corner of his eye. 

"Welcome back!" The bright-eyed girl smiled big and wide at him. Sasuke opened his mouth to speak. 

"Hmph," Miu smiled as he left the room, leaving her to enjoy her midnight snack in peace.

****

Miu gently lowered the tray onto the bedside table, Sasuke slept quietly in the large bed beside her. "Sasuke, it's time for breakfast," Her soft voice made him shift in his sleep. His head turned towards hers as he stayed sleeping. Miu found herself suddenly smiling at his sleeping face, she didn't know why but she enjoyed watching him sleep so. His hair fell down his cheek, she moved her hand and moved the hair away. "Saaasuke...," A giggle left her lips and slowly his eyes began to open. "It's time for breakfast," With a low grumble she stood up straight as he pulled himself up in bed. Sasuke stretched his arms and turned to the food. The strong aroma caused his stomach to make a low growling sound. That wasn't all that caught his attention, the girl preparing his plate for him did as well. Her backless, mini dark blue dress that exposed her thighs and the off-shoulder long sleeves that hid under her long bright hair. The purple rope around her waist similar to his showed off her waist just right. "Sasuke? Did you hear me?" 

For some time she had been calling his name and asked him a question. "Are you still sleeping?" She teased. 

"What did you say?"

"I asked if you wanted your side dishes first?" Sasuke nodded and grabbed the small bowl. "You went to bed late again didn't you?"

"It couldn't be helped, I wanted to meditate before bed," He said picking up a pickle with his chopsticks. 

Miu nodded and turned to his bathroom, opening the door, she found it clean, as always. Even though she served Sasuke for some years now, he had to be the cleanest person in the whole dark and secluded hideout. When she was under Orochimaru all she did was clean, blood, his room was often a mess if Kabuto hadn't done it the cleaning up himself. 

"Orochimaru kept rambling on about wanting to go over some new Jutsu today, he told me to meet him this afternoon," 

"Hm? Is that why he's not here?" Miu asked as she walked back out of the bathroom, she had sensed neither Orochimaru's nor Kabuto's chakra that morning, liking the idea of the two gone for the day didn't bother her, she truly detested having them around at all. 

"Who know's, who care's, he better not be late again," Sasuke said darkly, almost threatening. Miu sighed at him and lowered her head. "Sasuke your just too impatient," Miu knew there were one of two things Sasuke disliked, tardiness and being woken up from his sleep. Something she knew all too well. 

"....Would you like me to accompany you?" 

"Yeah, depending on the Jutsu, I'll probably need to recover," Sasuke placed his dishes on the table beside his bed and turned to the edge of the bed. He stood up and stared at her, Miu gave him a once over before avoiding his gaze. "A-alright," Her voice began to get shaky as he made his way closer to her. As he stood inches away from her, Miu's immediately flushed. "Have you rested well?"

"Yes, I have...," Her heart began to race and she could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears. 'He's so close...And he used to scold me about personal space' Her mind raced, they've kissed on numerous occasions, only at times when he needed to heal. Miu blinked rapidly as she suddenly realized Sasuke had been talking to her. 

"Got it?"

Miu clenched her fist and nodded. "Y-yes...," Her face turned red and Sasuke narrowed his eyes. His hand swiftly came up and he palmed her forehead, hard. 

Miu yelped loudly and cupped her forehead. "Next time pay attention," 

"S-sorry Sasuke!" 

"Let's go,"

****

An hour and a half late, Miu sat nervously beside Sasuke. She played with her long hair as her eyes darted back and forth between Sasuke and the entrance. Wanting to harshly to break the silence, Miu pursed her lips together, but she knew if she did he would only speak harshly. Sasuke was known for his temper among them. He lowered his head in the darkness and closed his eyes. 

Miu twitched as she felt it, the presence of two--no, three people. Three? Miu closed her eyes and frowned.

"Sasuke...They've arrived...but, there's someone with them,"

"Have any idea who it is?" 

"...No," 

Sasuke let out an aggravate sighed and waited for them to arrive into the room. 

"....You're late...," Sasuke spoke darkly as the three figures walked inside.

"There you go again with that insolent tone," Kabuto complained. 

"Orochimaru, did you forget how you said you were going to teach me a new jutsu this afternoon," Miu looked at Sasuke, his tone didn't ease her and she gave Orochimaru a worried look. 

"Please calm down Sasuke, instead of training I happened to bring a shinobi from Konoha, just like you," Sasuke slowly began to open his eyes, the bright red color visibly seen in the dark. "I figured you two could bathe in nostalgia," 

"Tch..," 

"So I presume, Your Sasuke Uchiha, my name is Sai-," The boy began to talk but was immediately interrupted.

"Get lost," Sasuke snapped, showing not the slightest interest in him.

The boy named Sai lowered his head. "It seems I'm the sort of person that people don't like right away even if I wear a smile, Naruto took an instant disliking towards me as well," 

"However, I have a feeling you and I will get along better than I did with him," Sasuke blinked and his eye's widen slightly at Sai.

Sai froze and shuddered, he took a step back and fell into a sitting position.

"Sasuke!" Kabuto shouted angrily.

"It's probably not a good idea to provoke Sasuke too much," Orochimaru said looking down at the boy. "He's even more difficult than I am,"

"I don't care about this guy," Sasuke rose from where he sat. "Come, Miu," Miu, sitting beside him stood up at his command. 

"I've heard a lot about you from Naruto, it seems he's been searching for you all this time, for three years now," The boy stood back up. Sasuke stopped moving and narrowed his eyes. Miu put her fingers to her lips, she recalled the name before, Kabuto talked about him once or twice. Unfortunately, she could never get Sasuke to talk about his past other than his brother.

"I remember someone like that...," Sasuke turned to leave. "Orochimaru, let's go, now"

"You mean a great deal to Naruto, he thinks of you as a brother, at least that's what Sakura told me," 

Sasuke whipped his head towards Sai. Obviously, the boy hit a nerve. "As far as brother's go, I have only one, the one that I must kill," With that Sasuke and Miu vanished.

****

A few hours later, Miu escorted Sasuke back to his quarters. He was somewhat fatigued, she could tell, Sasuke had previously trained the yesterday. Miu noticed he had picked up more days to train, though she felt he didn't need it. Sasuke had grown in strength tremendously, but he continued to train. With a soft plop Sasuke sat down on his bed, his chest rising and falling quite fast, but nothing alarming. Miu walked over to the table on the other side of the room, on top of it was a pitcher and glass of water and opened a draw. She pulled out a small box and grabbed the glass, as she made her way to Sasuke, her hands lowered in front of him. Sasuke's dark eyes intensely narrowed, knowing what was in the small box. A pill. He raised his hand and slapped the box and glass away with a strong swipe. The glass fell to the ground with a shatter and the box rolled across the floor.

"I don't need that," 

Miu squinted at him and shook her head. 

"Sasuke...," She began with a disappointed tone as Miu bend down to pick the glass pieces. "You don't need to be so co--" 

A sudden hard tug at her arm pulled her towards him. Surprised Miu looked up at Sasuke from her kneeling position between his legs, his red eyes piercing through her beautiful, verve eyes. In an instance she knew what he was going to do next, his hand cradled the back of her head in a gentle grip.


	13. Chapter 13 The Reunion

His hands were entangled in her brightly colored hair. Miu lifted her hands and tugged onto his white shirt. The energy and power rushing through her lips were a tingling and amazing feeling. Sasuke continued to absorb the energy from her lips in a powerful kiss. Miu felt her body becoming weaker with each passing second. She pulled away and gasped for air, Sasuke immediately pulled her back into another kiss, his fingertips digging into her head, craving more of her powerful essence. The heat rushing through his body, the feeling he got as his muscles came to a relaxing halt and the power he gained. Everything felt amazing, something couldn't explain. Miu put her hands on his shoulders and turned her head away, a hazy look in her eyes. 

"Sa-Sasuke...," He stared into her weak face as she breathed fast and hard. "....Sasuke...," She pleaded. 

"Sasu---," Once more he forced her back into another kiss. Miu felt the tingling sensation creeping up her spine, without realizing it she let something slip through her lips. A long moan. Sasuke stopped and lifted his head. The two panted, staring silently into each other's eyes. Sasuke's Sharingan faded away and he narrowed his eyes as if he were confused. Miu, finally snapping back from her dreaming gaze, she gasped, her face quickly becoming red and her heartbeat pounded in her ear. 

Sasuke only watched her with curious eyes as he hand covered her mouth and she stood up, avoiding Sasuke's gaze.

"So-sorry!," Miu bowed and whirled around, rushing out of the door, slamming it behind her. Sasuke's eyes fell onto the broken pieces of glass on the floor beside his bed. 

****

Miu stared into the sink full of dirty dishes a white apron tied around her waist, her mind drifting away, the rushing water from the faucet continued to fill the sink. She slowly testing the temperature of the water with her hand. 'Why did I have to do that? So embarrassing...,'

With her free hand she touched her lips and a red tint crept across her face. Sasuke's dark eyes staring at her made her shiver slightly. 'He's been doing that a lot lately.....,' Her mind grew silent again as the vivid images clouded her mind. His lips against her's, his hand tangled in her long hair.....The moan she let slip through her lips.

Water spilled over the sink and onto the floor. Miu gasped and stood away from the sink. She quickly began to panic, a soft squeak was heard and she took her hand out of the sink and turned the faucet off. Miu quickly grabbed a towel from the side of the sink and she spread it out of the floor. The water continued to fall out of the sink, Miu held her hands up.

"Stop!" She shouted. Her hands began to tingle and her body froze, the water falling over the sink had stopped moving. Miu blinked a few times before getting closer to examine the water falling in mid air. As she got a closer look, the water was not froze but stopped in motion, it was simply stopped, not moving, even the drops and splashes of water falling towards the water.

"Did I do that?" She whispered to herself. 'Impossible, I don't possess the ability to control water....do I?' Nervously she poked it, the water slowly began to ripple. "No...way..," Miu leaned in close again, staring at her reflection in the water. For a second she could see her eyes glowing in the reflection.

KABOOM!!!!!

Miu screamed as the ground rumbled and the loud noise startled her. The falling water unfroze and fell to the ground, splashing her quite a bit. Miu stood up quickly, trying to find the source of the sound. 

'That's...Only Sasuke would cause such a loud explosion...' She closed her eyes. 'Someone woke up Sasuke....There are other unfamiliar chakras in the hideout...This isn't good! They're all heading towards Sasuke,' Miu threw off her apron and rushed towards the kitchen doors.

****

As she ran through the long corridors toward Sasuke's position. On her way towards his bedroom, she could see a huge hole at the end of the corridor. 'Oh, why does he have to be so cranky when he wakes up?' 

Miu shielded her eyes from the bright sunlight. 

"Sasuke!?" Miu called to the center of the large crater, debris from the hideout were scattered everywhere. There were several individualss in the hideout. The boy Sai who arrived with Orochimaru earlier that day, a girl with short pink hair, a boy with blonde hair and a man being pinned against debris by Sasuke, who stood in the center of it all, locking eyes with the blonde who was on the ground. 

'He's okay...,' Miu sighed of relief and hurried towards Sasuke, darting through the other intruders. "Sasuke?!" 

He snapped out of what seemed like a trance of sorts and turned to her. "Miu...What are you doing here? Step away,"

"But Sasuke--," The sword that was pinning the man against the debris was being pushed from his body with wood. Sasuke wrapped his free arm around Miu as he was forced away, quickly wood shot up from the ground and wrapped him in darkness. 

Sasuke leaped through the wood with ease, smashing a hole in the top and landed on the top of the hole. 

"Sasuke...Who are these people?"

"...Never mind them...," He said coldly, obviously still cranky. 

"Why don't you get it Sasuke!!?" The blonde boy shouted from below. "It's Orochimaru Sasuke! He's just using you!"

"...If it happens it happens, so be it," The people below stared at him in shock. "If I can obtain the power to defeat Itachi by giving myself to Orochimaru, I'll give him my life a thousand times over,"

The older man stood up from where he was sitting. "Enough talk, he's a rogue ninja, a criminal, no different from Orochimaru, he can't be allowed to roam free, by any means necessary,"

"...The Leaf village, I'm done with the lot of you," He stabbed his sword into the ground, quickly formed a few hand signs and raised his arm. 

Miu gasped as Orochimaru appeared by his side and grabbed his wrist.

"Let's not bother with that Jutsu, be smart now,"

"Let go," Sasuke snapped.

"Now now," Miu turned around as Kabuto's voice was heard and he appeared beside her. "I told you to watch how you talk to Lord Orochimaru,"

"...Give me a reason to stop," Sasuke ordered, still itching to continue fighting.

"You do remember that the Akatsuki are on the move now don't you? We want the good people of the leaf to get rid of them for us, if the other Akatsuki members interfere with your fight with Itachi, you won't get your precious revenge,"

"That's a pitiful excuse," Sasuke replied. 

"Well if it helps your chances by one percent then it's worth it, right?" 

"Sasuke...," Miu whispered, she gave him a worried look, hoping he wouldn't choose to carry on.

Sasuke looked back down at the intruders and slowly dropped his hand.

"We're leaving," Orochimaru announced.

Sasuke picked up his sword and sheathed it. Miu put her hand on her chest, sighing of relief.

The four stood beside each other as flames began to engulf them as they disappeared and vanished into the air.

****

In the bath, Miu sunk into the water, leaning her head on the edge of the large tub. She hated moving from hideout to hideout. It was becoming quite the nuisance. Her long hair tickled her thighs and breast.

'So Sasuke is from the Leaf Village...He never talks about it...Those people must have been his friends,' She closed her eyes and relaxed in the hot water. 'They came all this way to take him back with them....Friends...I wonder what his life was like in that village,' The memories from her life in her previous village, the hate and sadness she endured. 

"I could never ask him...He just says something like, ' I don't want to discuss something unimportant'" Miu said in her best Sasuke voice. She couldn't help but giggle a little. Miu shivered in the water and she sat up in the bath water, confused. Placing her hands into the tub she cupped the water. 

'The water....It got cold...,' As the water slipped through the cracks of her fingers, Miu examined her hands. 

'I did that, there's no mistaking it...I did that...,'


	14. Freedom

A few months had passed since the incident with the intruders. And Orochimaru was getting sick with each passing day. Miu began to worry. Would Orochimaru take Sasuke's body? She knew Sasuke wouldn't go down without a fight, no matter what, especially after he revealed his plans to her.. Right? 

"Miu," She looked up and locked eyes with Sasuke. They were standing in front of Orochimaru's bedroom door. 

The door was completely shattered, inside the room stood Sasuke and a large white snake. Orochimaru. The snake was cut in pieces, blood scattered all over the walls and floors. She knew what had taken place here. Sasuke turned to her and began to slowly take a few steps toward her. The ritual must have taken place, but did Sasuke really give up his body to Orochimaru? Who was the person standing in front of her? His hand slowly cupped her cheek, she flinched as his hand caressed her. She grabbed his hand and stopped his motion. The hand on her face was still warm, a touch she was familiar with.

"Who...are you?" She asked meekly, her voice shaky. 

"Take another look," He whispered dropping his hand to his side. She let out a shaky sighed and gently ran her fingertips along his cheeks and slowly under his eyes. He closed his eyes slowly as her touch sent small, gentle waves of energy through him. A soothing touch. Miu smiled as the warmth of his body made her fingertips tingle. Something she was also quite familiar with.

"Sasuke," Miu stepped closer, her body pressing against his. "It's really you,"

"Who else could it be?" 

"You gave me a fright...,"

"Let's go, we have other things to do," Miu nodded and stepped back, she watched him head towards the door and stop. "Ah, Kabuto," 

Kabuto stood in the doorway, pale and confused. Similar to Miu's reaction when she came to the scene. Without words, Sasuke walked out of the room, 

"Which....Which one are you?" He asked. Miu hurried out of the room and stood beside Sasuke as he locked eyes with Kabuto.

"Which one do you think?" Sasuke's dark eyes began to fade away in place of his Sharingan. Kabuto gasped and his mouth hung open in disbelief.

"Lord Orochimaru...Has died?"

"I simply took him over, that's all," Sasuke stated before he turned around. He and Miu headed toward the exit of the hideout. 

****

Miu stared up at the setting sun, the color of the orange and red sky calmed her beating heart. She slowly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. No longer was she a trapped underground, not knowing when or where she would die. No longer was she afraid, a large weight had fallen off her shoulders. The soft breeze blew her hair, it tickled her cheeks. Miu brushed her hair behind her ears. 

"Miu," 

Her eyes opened and she turned to her friend. "We need to get going," Miu nodded and walked over to him. "I know...," 

"...Do you still wish to follow me, Miu?" 

She stopped moving. "I never imagined I would be free one day, now that I am...What's out there for me? Where do I belong? I like being with you....I don't know what you would do without me," Miu laughed and walked past him. 

"I'm fully capable of taking care of myself,"

"Are you? Who made all of your meals? Who healed you during those rough training sessions?"

"....Stubborn," He muttered.

****

In a large lab, deep underground, Sasuke and Miu looked around the large water tanks. Miu placed her face close to the water tanks and titled her head. "Where are we Sasuke?"

"Getting the first person to join my team," 

"Hm? I've never been here before, who is this person? Such a strange place," She followed him to the center of the room, a large water tank stood in front of them. 

"So it is you Sasuke...If you're here alone you must have killed Orochimaru," A voice spoke from the water. 

Sasuke grabbed his sword. "Yeah...First, let's get you out, Miu stand back," She did as she was told and stepped beside the water tank as Sasuke sliced his sword through the glass. Water came rushing out of the hole and onto the floor. Sasuke re-sheathed his sword, Miu gasped as a body began to form from the water. 

"I'm free, thanks, Sasuke...," 

"Suigetsu your the first, come with me,"

"I'm first...Then who are the others?" He asked pulling his body out of the water. Miu blushed and quickly covered her eyes as the nude man continued to pull himself out of the water. 

"Juugo from the Northern hideout and Karin from the Southern hideout,"

Suigetsu chuckled. "Really? Those guys?"

"What?" 

"Well, I just don't like them is all, we don't get along well," 

"There's not need to get along as long as you work together," 

"Of course....You did save me after all but, you must be crazy to choose them Sasuke," 

"Enough talk, put your clothes on we're going," 

Suigetsu sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "So high and mighty," 

"Sasuke!" Miu took a step forward as Suigetu instantly appeared behind Sasuke, his finger pointed to his temple. 

"Let's make one thing clear," He narrowed his eyes and smirked. "'kay?" 

Sasuke stared at him from the corner of his eye. "Just because you defeated Orochimaru doesn't mean you're my superior, we were all after him, sooner or later someone was bound to kill him," Miu's hands balled up and she glared at the man. "You were his favorite so you stayed by his side, you just had more chances to kill him than the rest of us," 

"Sasuke," Miu took a step closer and Suigetsu stepped away. "Kidding," He said in a sing-song tone. Miu exhaled and relaxed her fingers. 

"Sorry I didn't mean to scare the girl, but I'll go with you, but before we get the other's, I want to stop by somewhere," 

****

Standing in a dark room, several individuals's in dark long cloaks stood silently, waiting. 

"What took you so long?!" Deidara shouted as he glared at the masked man. The tall, slender man turned to him. He had white spiky hair and his face was covered with a white pierrot mask that fully concealed his face. 

"That's none of your business...I had other things to do," 

"Now that your here Kurai, I have some more news," Pein announced. "Someone else has died, Orochimaru," 

"Wow, well whoever did the job must be very strong, who was it?" Kisame asked.

"Uchiha Sasuke," 

"That's some brother you have Itachi," Kisame chuckled turning to his partner. 

"Right now, he's gathering some ninja who could be quite troublesome for us," Zetsu said. "And one of them happens to be a girl with quite a lot of talent, she has the ability to control elements to her will," 

Deidara hummed and turned to Kurai. "Well how strange there's another person out there who's just like you," 

Kurai glared at him. "Who are the other's?" Kisame spoke up. 

"One of them is of the Houzuki brothers of The Hidden Mist," 

"Ah, Suigetsu, it's been a while," 

"There's also Juugo, Itachi and Kisame watch your back, they'll surely try to find you," 

"These people sound interesting," Deidara smirked deviously. 

Kurai silently turned to Pein. "The girl, the one you spoke of, if she is as you say, she'll be incredibly difficult to handle, let me deal with her," 

"Understood, just don't go overboard Kurai,"

"...Got it," Underneath his white mask a pair of red eyes flashed dangerously.


	15. Chapter 15 Assemble, Hebi

Her green-blue eyes seemed to sparkle in the sun, and her long orange-blonde chestnut hair flowed behind her as she walked. The boy next to her couldn't help but smile. "You know, your pretty cute Miu," Suigetsu snickered. Miu blushed and cupped her cheeks. "Ex-excuse me?" 

He laughed again. "Sorry, was that too much?" Miu shook her head and stared up ahead. "I'm not used to those kinds of compliments," 

"Really? So, did Sasuke free you and ask you to join his team to?" Suigetsu asked as he stared into her flushed face. Miu's face softened and a gentle smile appeared on her lips. "Something like that?" 

The two stopped as they noticed Sasuke had stood still in front of a large bridge. Suigetsu and Miu looked at him. "What's up, Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked. 

Miu looked up at the bridge, she realized what had gotten his attention. A large sign in big bolded, black words were. 'The Great Naruto Bridge' Sasuke made a noise as he continued to stare. "Sasuke?" Suigetsu called out once more before Sasuke blew it off. "It's nothing...let's go,"

They approached two small man-made graves, one with an extremely large sword stabbed into the ground beside it. "There, Suigetsu,"

Suigetsu stepped toward the large sword and pulled it out of the ground. "So that's where it was, I'm going to take this Master Zabuza," He lifted the sword up with a grunt. 

"Can you lift that with your strength?" Sasuke asked as Suigetsu stabbed the sword back into the ground.

"It's heavy true, but the swords of the 'Seven Ninja Swordsmen' were passed down from generation to generation. I admired The Seven and trained because of it," Suigetsu began to disassemble the sword and hooked it on his back "Plus, if we're going to include Juugo in the team this sword will come in handy, I think...," Sasuke chuckled but Miu stared at him in concern. Was Suigetsu really reliable, and who were the other two Sasuke mentioned before? 

"Miu let's go," She turned around to Sasuke's voice and gasped as the two were always far away, waving at her. 

As Kurai stepped out of his cave, he looked up at the blue sky and brought his gaze back down to the ground. 'I'm going to find you...,' He stretched his arm out through his black robe and squeezed his fist. Drops of blood dripped from his palm and fell to the ground. In a large poof of smoke, an enormous black bird rose from the ground beside him.It's reflecting red eyes and sharp, black feathers. With its menacingly sharp beak, it let out an ear piercing shriek.

Miu played with tiny balls of water between her fingertips. She was enjoying the beautiful view of the ocean beneath her feet. This was her very first time seeing it. "Can I ask you something?" Suigetsu asked turning to Sasuke. "What?"

"Why are you gathering teammates?"

"I have a goal...There's a better chance to achieve it with a small team," 

"So, Why me?" 

"From the time I got close to Orochimaru, I thought about this possibility and chose some powerful ninja," 

"Heh, well Miu you must not have met Karin but she's got a personality I can't stand,"

"A personality? So she's a difficult person?" Miu asked. "Other than Sasuke I haven't meet anyone who was truly difficult," She said to herself quietly.

Sasuke turned to her and Miu flinched, she laughed nervously before averting her gaze. Suigetsu chuckled at the two. "So what sparked your interest in Miu?" Sasuke continued to stare at her, his eyes trailing down to her lips. "She, just like Karin has special powers," Miu flushed and her eyes widen the small balls of water popped in her hands, she knew what he meant. Other than her strange elemental powers' she had a strange ability to heal and soothe with her chakra. In the distance, an island could be seen.   
Inside the hideout were large cells full of prisoners, experiments. Miu couldn't help but feel pity for them. She clenched her fist and stared down at the floor until she ran into Sasuke's back. He and Suigetsu stopped in the hall, staring at a girl a few feet in front of them. Miu poked her head out from around Sasuke. A girl with crimson hair in an unusual hairstyle stood before them with an annoyed expression.   
"So it is you guys, I knew it," She pushed up her glasses and glanced at Miu before looking back at Sasuke. "You're here alone, that must mean the rumor is true then,"  
"Well that's cold, we're standing here to Karin," Suigetsu spoke up with a sigh.  
"So, what are you doing here?"  
"Apparently, Sasuke want's to talk to you, so let's go to a room,"   
She growled and crossed her arms, turning and leading them to a room. 

Miu sat beside Sasuke on a small couch. "Karin, come join my team," He said bluntly. "Huh?! Why the hell should I?"   
"Orochimaru's gone, there's no need for a warden here," Sasuke retorted.  
"What about all the people that we're detaining?!"   
"...Suigetsu go and release everyone being held here," Sasuke ordered.   
"Still talking like you're the boss huh," Suigetsu laughed before standing up. Miu turned to Sasuke and leaned closer to him. "May I go to Sasuke? I can help,"   
"Fine," Miu smiled and stood up from her seat and followed Suigetsu out of the room. She could hear Karin continuing her shouting down the hall. 

Miu stared down at the men as they sat in the cells, depressed, others injured. Miu held her hands out and her hands began to glow. The bars slowly began to bend and pulled apart, creating a large gap. The men looked up and stared at her cautiously.   
"I'm come to set you free," She said gently. The men bounced to their feet and gasped.  
"A-are you serious this isn;t one of Orochimaru's tricks!?" A shaggy man shouted.   
"Um...He's been killed, Lor-- Orochimaru is gone," They turned to each other and began to murmur. "We can really go free?" She nodded and they ran towards the exit, one by one, they pushed through the bars and out towards the exit. As she thought the cell was empty Miu spotted a man in the corner gripping his legs. Miu slowly walked over to him and leaned over. "Are you alright?" She whispered.   
"I can't go...my legs are broken," He whimpered. Miu got on her knees and held her hand out over his legs as he had them close to his chest.   
'Poor thing, his legs are badly twisted...How cruel, how could he even bare the pain'   
He groaned as his legs began to shift and straighten. As the pain subsided she stood up and smiled. "They'll probably be sore for a little while, so please take breaks every now and then,"  
He looked down at his legs and gasped in awe. "No way....," He looked up at Miu and she realized he looked a bit younger than her. A boy who had his whole like ahead of him. "Th-thank you!" He said pulling himself up on his feet and heading toward the exit.   
Miu walked out of the cell and she locked eyes with Suigetsu and he smiled. "I didn't know you had such a skill set, I'm impressed, Miu,"  
She giggled. "I'm just glad they were set free...He was older than me when I became a prisoner," She stated, watching the boy vanishing around the corner. The two made it towards the room Sasuke was in.  
"That's right you served under Orochimaru too, is that how you met Sasuke,"  
"Yes, I was just Orochimaru's servant, then he passed me over to Sasuke...Wow," She muttered.   
"What is it?"  
"That was almost three years ago," Miu blushed and brushed her hair behind her ear. Suigetsu noted her tinted cheeks and smirked.  
Suigetsu grabbed the doorknob but the door didn't open. "Damn, she locked it from the inside,"   
"Huh? I-is Sasuke okay?"  
"Probably, Karin couldn't possibly take dow Sa-," Miu pressed her hand against the door without hearing another word before a large explosion was heard. "Sasuke?!"  
Sasuke turned to Miu and raised an eyebrow. Miu sighed of relief as Sasuke looked unharmed.  
"Geez Miu," Suigetsu said stepping over the broken down door. "Come on Sasuke, looks like Karin doesn't want to come,"  
"No, she say's she'll come with us," Sasuke said.   
"Who said I'll go?! I'm jus....Just heading in the same direction!"   
"Oh? That's convenient then, let's go partway,"   
"Just part way," Karin agreed.   
"Then next is Juugo right?" Suigetsu asked.  
"What did you say Juugo? You're going to include that guy in the team?!" Karin shouted.  
"You're only with us until partway, right? So it doesn't concern you does it?"   
"No-no, it doesn't concern me! So what? Are you trying to pick a fight with me Suigetsu?"   
"Sasuke are you alright?" Miu asked grabbing his sleeve as he stood up. "Yeah,"  
Karin turned to Miu and narrowed her eyes. "And is she really apart of the team to?! Her chakra is abnormal! Orochimaru informed me a lot about her,"  
"Abnormal?" Miu lowered her head, a word she was familiar with, a word she should be used to by now but it still stung. Abnormal.   
"Miu is someone who serves under only me," Sasuke spoke.   
"And you don't have to bite her head off," Suigetsu said. Karin turned to Suigetsu and glared at him. "Your chakra is gross too..,"  
"What?!"  
"That's enough, let's get going,"   
Miu followed close behind Sasuke as he made his way toward - what was formerly the door.   
Slowly, his team was coming together and Miu realized his goal was fast approaching, she was going to help him every step of the way. Sasuke glanced at her in the corner of his eye, Miu had a small smile on her face. A smile that never seemed to fade away from her lips. "Did you free the prisoners?"  
"Yes! There were a lot of them, but they're gone now...Hopefully, they'll be okay, there was a boy in the mix, he was so young,"  
"You set them free so don't worry about them anymore,"   
"I know," Miu felt the wind blow past her and Sasuke. She knew what he was going to say. All she could do was worry about herself now, she did her part.

 

The large black bird flew high above the clouds. Kurai stood on top of the bird and stared at the earth below him. His mind racing through his memories. A white silhouetted girl smiled at him. 'Big brother!'   
The memories shut off and his mind went blank.   
'Who is that girl?'


	16. Chapter 16 Assemble, Hebi Cont.

Miu stopped and turned to Suigetsu as he fell onto a large rock. "Hey...Aren't you tired?" He pulled out his water bottle and took a long sip. "Why don't we rest a little?" Karin growled and frowned. "You're pathetic! We still have a long way to go until we reach The North Hideout!" Suigetsu ignored her. "No need to worry about me, where we're headed should be different than yours anyway right?" 

"I just remembered that I had business at The North Hideout! So I'm going there first!!" She argued. Miu turned back to Sasuke and shrugged as the two bickered. Sasuke and Miu gave into the request and sat on the large rock alongside Suigetsu. Karin huffed and stood in front of them her frown not leaving her face. "....Suigetsu why are you going along with Sasuke?"

"Well, I have my own goals and being with Sasuke will make them come true,"

"Hmph, I don't what you guys' goals are but do you really know about Juugo when you say you want him on the team?" 

"I fought him once, he was pretty strong and had some...interesting powers to say the least,"

"The rumors say he came to Orochimaru on his own," Karin continued. "He came to him to be rehabilitated,"

"Why would Juugo want to be rehabilitated?" Suigetsu asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"He can do anything about it...Not on his own anyway. He wanted to suppress his killing impulses," She narrowed her eyes as she continued to tell inform them of the mysterious man named Juugo. "Just as you said, he does have some unusual powers, to Orochimaru Juugo's powers were very appealing, so he took Juugo's body fluids and created an enzyme that would create the same condition in other ninja's....You know about it too right? It's called the Curse Mark," 

Miu flinched as she remembered Sasuke sudden change in appearance once before. One that still frightens her, and the encounter she had with a strange powerful experiment that was later revealed to her as a man influenced by the curse mark. She going to that place...the main site for those experiments. Her fist shook beside her and she squinted. 'I'm strong enough to handle those right?' Sasuke noticed her change in posture and stood up. 

"We've rested enough, let's go," 

With The North Hideout in their view on a mountain. Miu frowned nervously. "Hey...," Suigetsu called. "Why don't we rest for a while?" 

"Argh! Suigetsu all you do is rest! We're already at The Hideout!!" Karin whirled and snapped. "Is it that sword?! It is it too heavy? Why don't you just leave it behind!!" 

Miu gasped and ran towards a fainted man a few feet away from them. He groaned in pain as she cradled his head. "Hey...," Sasuke called, the two of them turned to him.

"That guy's from The North Hideout...," Karin said as she hurried over.

"He's still breathing...," Miu muttered as she held her hand over his forehead. Miu's hand waved over his chest and she looked up at Sasuke with a sad expression. Sasuke got onto his knees. "What happened?" 

"You're....Sasuke Uchiha....Help....It started with the news that Orochimaru died....The prisoners started rioting...If things are left like this...." He groaned and slowly began to go limp in her arms. "Looks like he died," A large figure flew into the air and came crashing down in front of them.

"I know you...," He said with a disgruntled voice. 

"What the hell is that?!" Suigetsu asked staring the large man. 

"Curse Mark level two! He's already transformed," 

Without hesitation, Sasuke drew his sword and cut the man down. His red skin faded away and he collapsed. Sasuke resheathed his sword and looked up at the entrance to the hideout.

"The North Hideout is right there, let's go and see Juugo,"

Once they arrived at the entrance to the hideout, what awaited them were more obstacles. Several rows of prisoners stood in their path. 

"All the guards are dead, a complete prison break," Karin said with a sweat rolling down her temple. 

"Is there any way to tell which one's Juugo like this?"

"Karin is Juugo amongst those guys?"

"Everyone just shut up and give me a second!" She pulled her hands up to her chin and closed her eyes.

"He's not here,

"Heh, so we can go crazy then, right?" Suigetsu chuckled as he put his sword together.

"Just don't kill anyone,"

"Haa, you really are from The Hidden Leaf, you should have killed that guy back there too, you're soft," Sasuke ignored him and pulled out his sword. 

"Miu stay back," Sasuke order. 

"But Sasuke I--"

"You're of no use to me if you freeze up," Sasuke said coldly. Miu nodded meekly and stood back. She didn't like this, the feeling of being distant from Sasuke in battle. She was always by Sasuke's side even during battles. This was the first time she didn't stand side by side with him, a strange feeling. Even though he was right there, why did she feel lonely? Miu stepped closer and closer toward the chaotic battle. To her Sasuke's orders were absolute, she wouldn't dare disobey them. 

Once Sasuke and Suigetsu subdued the prisoners, they stood amongst the unconscious men. Suigestu turned to Miu as he pushed off his sword. "Where did Karin go?" Before Miu could answer Karin shouted from the hall.

"I found the keys!"

Sasuke put his sword back and Suigetsu disconnected his, strapping it back into place. "Watch your surroundings, Miu, there could be more of them," Miu smiled at him before following Suigetsu into the hall. 

"Ugh, this place is a maze," Suigetsu sighed as they reached the end of a hallway with various directions. 

"Karin, which way? Lead us," Sasuke ordered.

"Sasuke! Who said you could bark orders!?" 

"Could you just hurry up and find out? That's your power isn't it?" Suigetsu replied with an irritated face. Karin quietly pointed to the right beside Miu and Suigetsu. "That way?" 

Suigetsu and Miu turned into the hall. "So the curse mark changes the body into something monstrous, I wonder do you also become like that when you use it Sasuke?" Miu narrowed her eye's as she remembered the form she once came encountered a long time ago. Since then Sasuke hadn't shown it in front of her.

"Hey, Miu!" She turned around to Suigetsu who was pointing behind them.

"Eh? Where'd Sasuke go?"

"That damned woman...Where did they go?" Suigetsu growled and his fist shook with anger. Miu closed her eyes and she exhaled. "I found them, follow me Suigetsu,"

"Your a sensory type two huh?"

"We-well not really? I can only sense chakra that's nearby and I can't recognize it,"

"Unless it's Sasuke's? Right?" 

Miu blushed and turned to him. "I-It's not what you think...Sasuke and I have known each other for a long time so I can sense his easily," 

"Yeah? So what's the relationship between the two of you,"

"...It's as Sasuke say's, I just serve him is all," She spoke with a small hint in her voice. 

"But you can leave anytime right? So why did you decided to follow him,"

"He granted my wish and I want to find a way to repay him, so I've decided to help him achieve his goal," Miu stopped and looked down the hall. "There's someone else...I think it's Juugo but...,"

"What is it, Miu?"

"He's attacking Sasuke," Miu ran down the hall without another word and Suigetsu hurried after her. 'Sasuke!' She hurried toward Sasuke. Miu came around a corner and stopped behind Karin as she stood in front of the scene. Swiftly, Suigetsu ran past the two and swung his sword, smashing into Juugo's fist, the two slid back from the strong impact. 

"Who are you?!" 

"You've gotten stronger Juugo, you didn't use that power last time," The tall, muscular young man who stood before them had spiky orange hair, red-orange eyes. His curse covered the left side of his body, and his arm was shifted into a weapon. " Sasuke, I want to take this guy on, and Karin you'll get it later," 

"Stop Suigetsu, we didn't come here to fight,"

"Heh, he isn't someone who'll listen when you talk,"

"I remember you now! You're Suigetsu!!" Juugo roared. He raised his dark arm as it shifted into a blade, Suigetsu raised his sword again and the two began to clash their weapons, over and over.

"Both of you! Stop!" Sasuke demanded. They two ignored his order and swung back at each other in a strong blow. In an instant Sasuke stood between them, enormous snakes wrapped around and two, freezing them in their mid-strike positions. 

"You two...," He spoke coldly. "Do you both want me to kill you is that it?" 

The hall grew silent and the snakes slowly receded into Sasuke's sleeves. Sweat rolled down Juugo's face and his curse mark faded away. 

He looked around the hall with a panicked expression and he screamed, rushing into a room and slamming the door behind him 

"Hu...Hurry and lock the door!!!" 

"Juugo...I came to take you out of here," 

"No! I don't want to kill any more people! I don't want to go outside, just leave me alone!!" Miu turned to Sasuke. "What should we do Sasuke? He sounds serious,"

Sasuke stepped closer to the door. "Orochimaru is gone, and if you stay here, it'll be the end of you,"

"I don't care, I don't want to kill another person ever again!

"Calm down, I'll be able to stop you,"

"What can you do? The only person who could stop me is Kimimaro," 

"Kimimaro died for me, Juugo,"

"He died for you? Then you are....Uchiha Sasuke,"

"Yes," 

Juugo became quiet on the other side of the door. Then it slowly opened and Juugo stepped out, with a calmer expression as he stared into Sasuke's eyes. Miu smiled softly and put her hand over her chest. 'Thank goodness,' 

She felt like she was going to have a heart attack, but now his team was assembled and this was one step closer to Sasuke's goal.


	17. Chapter 17 That Dangerous Encou

The team, Hebi followed Sasuke as he leads them to another location. Miu lagged behind as she stared at the ground. Suigetsu noticed her distance and turned around.

"Hey, Miu! You alright?!" He called. Sasuke stopped, he turned his head and stared at Miu in the corner of his eyes. "Geez, we don't need another Suigetsu, just leave her behind," Karin mumbled crossing her arms over her chest. 

"We don't need another who?" Suigetsu turned to her and glared at his new teammate. He was ordered to not engage in any more altercations with her. His glare could burn holes through her. 

Miu cupped her forehead, her bright eyes flashed a faint red color before she blinked it away. 'My head is pounding...What's wrong with me?' She looked up at Sasuke they locked eyes and she waved with a small smile. "I-I'm okay!" She shouted back and began making her way towards them. 

Karin gasped and turned to the sky. "There's something coming fast!" She warned. "From where?" Suigetsu asked grabbing his sword. 

"Above us!" 

"Miu! Get away from there!" Sasuke called out. Miu nodded and quickly made her way toward the group. A loud explosion was heard just a few feet behind her and sent the girl into the air. 

"Miu!" 

In mid-air, Miu felt a strong hold around her wrist and waist, squeezing her tightly. "What is this?!" She tried to pull herself free but she remained in place. The thick, strong black inky vines squeezed her once more. When she realized she couldn't break herself free with just bare strength, her eyes fell below to the source responsible. Below she could see a man standing on the ground, a masked man in a black cloak. 

"Who is that?" Juugo asked, eyeing the masked man. 

"Those robes...He is a member of the Akatsuki," Sasuke stated reaching for his sword.

"Really, perfect, they came to us," Suigetsu pulled his sword from his back. "Saves us the trouble of walking," 

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and dashed toward Miu, his sword ready to strike. 

Kurai turned to Sasuke. 'He's fast,'

With a wave of his hand, a flame began to ignite, a brightly colored flame. It immediately began to grow in size. Miu quickly struggled against her restraints and engulfed her arms in flames, burning the vines to ashes and they crumbled away she began to fall to the ground below. Kurai's large ball of flame shot from his palm and flew towards Sasuke, scorching the earth on its path. Miu raised her arms, the tingling feeling in her fingers emerged and an invisible force flew towards Sasuke just as he charged through the flames with ease under the protection of her force field. Kurai pulled out a kunai and clashed with Sasuke, their red eyes locked intensely. "....So, you must be Itachi's younger brother,"

Sasuke frowned and Kurai leaped into the air as he felt Suigetsu take a powerful swing from behind him. Kurai distanced himself and the three stared him down cautiously.

"You know where Itachi is? Tell me," Sasuke demanded. Kurai was silent before his red eyes fell on Miu. "If you want Itachi find him on your own, my objective is the girl," 

"Girl? Me?" Miu muttered. 

"Miu you know this guy?" Suigetsu asked, she simply shook her head. Sasuke stepped in front of Miu and Kurai clenched his fist. "I very much don't like others hindering my missions," Kurai raised his hand and his flame reappeared. "So step aside or I'll get rid of you," 

"Sasuke...," Miu began.

"Stay back," Sasuke said to her sternly.

"Sa-Sasuke you shouldn't fight him alone, it's dangerous," Miu said grabbing his sleeve. Sasuke stared at her hand as it gripped his shirt tightly. "Just stay behind me, I don't know what he wants, nor do I care...I just want to know where Itachi is," Sasuke stated turning back to the man. 

"Is that so?" Kurai held his arm out, a black ooze began to drip from his forearms, as the drops hit the ground they quickly began to form a figure, an all black figure, a clone. Once the clone was fully assembled he took off towards them while Kurai stood behind, his red eyes staring on deviously. 

"What the heck!? The thing is gross!," Suigetsu shouted in disgust. Sasuke lunged forward and swung his sword, cutting the black goo in half. The two parts quickly rebuilt their bodies and stood back up. Sasuke and Suigetsu stared in shock at the now--two clones. 

"Well, looks like cutting them down isn't going to work Sasuke," Suigetsu said pulling his sword up. Sasuke's hand began to chirp loudly and he moved to attack again and Suigetsu hurried behind him. 

'The way he uses his flame and clones without weaving any hand signs, his powers are similar to mine,' She clenched her fist as her face paled. 'Is there really someone out there like me?' Miu scanned the battle as she realized the real Kurai vanished from where he was standing. An overwhelming feeling came over her.

Miu gasped and spun around to come face to face with a Kurai. "Got you," Before she could back away he grabbed her throat and she coughed as he squeezed. Miu stared into his eyes and clawed at his hands as she felt a strong pull of her energy from her body. Miu weakly dropped to her knees and the ground rumbled. The ground formed from underneath her and grabbed her arms. holding the girl down to her knees. Powerless and bound all she could do was try and fight against the strong pull she felt. 'Sasuke,'

"Sasuke! He's absorbing her chakra, large amounts of it too!" Karin shouted from her distance. 

Sasuke turned his attention from the clone as their weapons entered a deadlock and narrowed his eyes at Kurai. 

"Miu!" Suigetsu shouted, he swung at the clone but it slid back, avoiding his attack, Suigetsu turned around to aid the girl only to have the clone reappear in front of him. 

"Damn it! Move!"

From the beside them Juugo raced to the battlefield, quickly launching a strong punch at Kurai. The masked man was sent flying, he stopped himself with his heels. The ground holding Miu down crumbled and she fell to the ground.

"Annoying," He muttered. Kurai lifted his hand into the air, a large fireball began to emerge. Kurai froze as he got into a stance to launch his attack at the group. 'Kurai, get back to the hideout,' 

His flame disappeared while his clones melted away into black goo and slid back towards his feet and formed a shadow under him. "Looks like I won't be able to finish this now," 

"Looks like he's running away," Juugo stated as he crouched down beside Miu and lifted her off the ground. Miu weakly opened her eyes. Sasuke glared harshly at the masked man. "I will retrieve the girl, if you get in my way again I'll kill you," He threatened before a strong gust of wind blew as a large black bird appeared from a poof of smoke. The bird flew into the air with Kurai standing on it's back, the two disappeared into the clouds. Sasuke's red eyes faded away as he turned to Miu. He walked over to her and crouched down, sheathing his sword.

"Are you alright?" 

"Y-yeah, I'll be fine, I think," Miu looked up at the sky. 'The feeling I had when he touched me...It felt so familiar, who was he?'

"You really don't know who that guy was?" Juugo asked. Miu didn't reply and she just dropped her head weakly. "She's in no shape to be walking, what should we do Sasuke?"  
Sasuke was silent before he answered. "We'll rest in a nearby Inn for tonight,"   
"N-No, I'm fine Sasuke! Really!" Miu tried to push herself off the ground but fell to her knees. "Don't push yourself so hard Miu," Juugo warned.   
"But...I don't want to hold everyone back,"  
"Enough, your of no use to me in that condition, Juugo, can you carry Miu?"  
"Uh, yeah,"  
"Then let's go,"  
Miu watched Sasuke stand up and turn away. 'Is he angry?' She asked herself, perhaps he was simply annoyed either way it wasn't good. Juugo cradled Miu close to his chest as he stood up. 

"Sorry Juugo," Miu blushed as the strong man held her in his arms with ease.

"Don't worry about it," 

****

Miu opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling, an uneasy feeling taking over. She couldn't heal properly without concentration. Turning to Sasuke, Miu sighed. "Sa-Sasuke, it's hard for me to rest with you staring...so intensely at me," 

Sasuke didn't respond but continued to stare down at her as she laid on a futon. Miu turned back to the ceiling. "Are you angry?"

Sasuke just stared into her face. "I really don't know who that masked man could be, I've never left the hideout to meet anyone,"

"There's no need to keep repeating yourself, I believe you," Sasuke said firmly. 

"You do?"

"It doesn't change the fact that an Akatsuki member is chasing after you,"

"I know," 

"....We at least have someone who will come to us and do the chasing, the next time we face him I won't hesitate to capture him," 

"I understand, I'll do better next time, he just caught me off guard....I noticed his abilities were very strange,"

"Like yours?" 

"Yes...Like mine, do you really think there's someone out there like me?" 

"Who knows, who cares, our next objective is to locate another Akatsuki and find Itachi,"

"Understood, I wish I could heal faster, sorry Sasuke," She smiled softly at him. "It would be helpful if you could heal me as I do you," A giggled left her lips and she stuck out her tongue. 

"Don't be ridiculous," 

"I'm teasing," Miu said pulling the blanket over her lips. "I know you don't have that ability," The room grew quiet, Miu felt a hand slid under her neck and lift her off the futon. "Sasuke? What's wrong?" He leaned in closer to her face and Miu's cheeks flushed. "Sasuke?? What are you doing?"

"Don't move so much," He muttered. Miu's heart nearly shot out of her chest when he pulled her close to his bare chest. Then she heard it, faintly but it was there. Against his warm chest was the sound of his heart beating. A rhythmic sound, Miu slowly found herself closing her eyes and relaxing against him. A strong wave of warmth enfolded her body. Sasuke stared into her peaceful face. His hand twitched slightly as he lifted his head up, forcing back the urge to press his lips against hers. That strong feeling he wanted to have even for just a second, that amazing sensation every time their lips locked. The rising and falling of her chest began to slow, she had fallen asleep in his arms. Sasuke slowly lowered his head and his lips lightly slid across hers. There it was, that sensation he was craving. He pulled away and laid her down gently. Miu was already weakened if he had taken any more of her chakra she would take longer to heal. His craving would have to wait. Sasuke stood up from his seating position and walked to the door of her room. He glanced back at the sleeping girl before leaving the room. 'Soon,'


	18. Chapter 18 Clash! Part. 1

Miu looked around the strange area as the group traveled through a ruined looking town. 

"Wow, a hideout actually exist in these ruins...The first I've ever heard of it," 

"This place has nothing to do with Orochimaru, this is a weapons house the Uchiha used, we'll prepare for battle here," Sasuke stated.

"Tch, this place irritates me the air is stifling," Karin complained. 

"If you don't like it then leave," They all turned around to the source of the voice. Two cats sat behind them. "It's been a while, Denka, Hina," 

"Ha! I knew it was you Sasuke,"

"What bring you here, nya?" 

"Weapons and medicine, we're preparing for battle," 

Suigetsu leaned down and held out his hand. "Oh! A talking tanuki, here kitty, kitty," The cat hissed viscously at Suigetsu who cowered back and Miu giggled. "They are ninja cats, be careful, they bite," 

"Did you bring us any goodies, nya?"

"Of course, here's a bottle of catnip," Sasuke said digging into his pouch and holding up a small bottle. 

"Come this way, I'll show you to Granny Cat," The cat walked past them. 

****

Miu giggled as the cats forced their way onto her lap. Their claws scraping against her skin as they stepped over her exposed thighs. "So cute~!" 

"I'm in debt to you granny cat," Sasuke rolled up his medicine bag before pulling out his wallet. "I'm assuming that you're going after Itachi?" Sasuke didn't respond as he handed her some money. "I've known you two since you were wee little kittens. I can't believe it's come to this,"

"We'll be going, thanks for all of your help, Granny Cat,"

****

"Well then...I wonder what to do next hmph," Deidara spoke.

"What? Whaddya mean next?" Tobi asked turning to his partner.

"Well, Kakashi is leading a team and then it's the nine tails oh, let's not forget about Sasuke Uchiha,"

"But we've both finished our missions!" 

"The nine tails Jinchuuriki still needs to get repaid in full and Kakashi took my right arm, hmph," He frowned. "And I could take on that Uchiha Sasuke too since he offed Orochimaru, Tobi let's go!" 

"Deidara, don't kill the girl he's traveling with, she's mine," Kurai snapped. 

"Yeah, yeah," 

Tobi sighed and the two disappeared.

****

"Well then, it's time to go," Suigetsu said turning to everyone before he and Juugo disappeared. Miu turned to leave just as Sasuke called out to her. "Miu, you'll stay with me,"

"Sasuke, but I could--"

"With that Akatsuki member chasing after you, it's best you stay with me, if he comes back we can capture him and ask him about Itachi,"

Miu's face saddened. 'I want to be helpful, I can't do that if Sasuke is going to keep me tethered to him,' 

"Understood,"

Sasuke turned to Karin. "You have to go too," 

Karin sighed and turned on her heels, walking away with a grumpy face. 

"Is this really okay, Sasuke?"

"Yeah, just come with me,"

"..Alright..,"

The two silently walked through the meadow. Sasuke slightly turned his head to get a good look at Miu. Her face was filled with concern. He of course of easily figure out what was bothering her. 

"Miu,"

She looked up at him startled. "Ye-yes, Sasuke?"

"Just stay beside me, we can get answers from that masked man after I've dealt with Itachi," Miu nodded as a small smile appeared on her face. Sasuke had been trying to keep her uplifted since the encounter with the masked man and she knew why. Miu blushed and giggled. "I'm beginning to think you like me, Sasuke," 

Sasuke stopped hard and she ran into his back. He turned around and she began to panic. 

"I-I was kidding, I'm sorry!" She shouted frantically as her hands waved in front of her defensively. 

"Who's there?" Miu spun around as she noticed he had been looking past her into the trees. A figure emerged from the shadows, wearing a black robe. 

'Those are the same clothes that masked man wore,' A man with short spiky black hair and a swirling orange mask approached them slowly. "So you must be Sasuke, you really do look like Itachi," Sasuke glared intensely at the man and he sped fast away. "Woah! Scary!"

The sound of flapping wings caught their attention to the sky above. A man flying on what appeared as two white birds came flying overhead. He leaped off the birds and as the descended a loud explosion echoed. 

As the smoke cleared, Miu looked up at the giant snake as it sizzled. 'He caught me off guard! I thought I was a goner,' She exhaled beside Sasuke. 'Another one? Just how many of these Akatsuki guys are there?' Miu wondered as she eyed the blonde man standing beside the masked man. 

"Sharingan huh?" The blonde man began as he stared into Sasuke's harsh eyes. "Well your Itachi's kid brother alright, you managed to kill Orochimaru thanks to that Uchiha blood, you were lucky to be born into that family, and nothing more!" 

They stared into each other's eyes silently.

With the blink of an eye, Sasuke was in front of them, pulling his sword from its sheath. The blonde and quickly managed to dodge Sasuke at the last second, leaping onto a high tree branch as he sliced through his partner. The masked man collapsed onto the ground with a thud. 

"Now chatterbox, you're going to tell me all about Itachi," As Sasuke spoke to the man above him, the masked man rose up from the ground, unscathed. 

"Didn't Sasuke cut through him?" Miu asked herself as she watched on from a distance. The blonde man opened his cloak and reached into two pouches, he brought his hands up and a few white, tiny spider figures flew down towards Sasuke. Instantly, Sasuke's hand lit up, his Chidori at the ready, with a swipe of his hand a shower of his Chidori Senbon needles pierced through the white spiders pinning them to the tree's and ground. The blonde man brought his hand to his face.

"Wait, partner!! Don't blow them up yet!" The masked man shouted as the pinned spiders were only inches from him. "Look out behind you!"

While he had his attention on his partner, Sasuke had appeared behind him swinging his sword down. The man threw another white spider and it exploded loudly. "Sasuke!" Miu called out.

"Deidara! He may have been strict but he was a good partner!" The masked man whined. "Shut up Tobi!" Both Sasuke and the blonde Deidara emerged from the trees and down onto the ground. Miu rushed toward Sasuke. "You're okay!"

"That guy, he can produce bombs from his hands," 

"Yes I noticed, be careful Sasuke," 

Deidara reached into his pouches once again and held out his hands, Miu flinched from the two grotesque mouths that spit out a white substance onto the ground. 

"I'll play with you for a bit, Hmph," He said with a smug smirk. The white substance began to form two uneven, large figures with empty eyes.

"That's child's play," Sasuke brought his sword up as the figure approached them. When he swung his sword into a thinner part of one of the figure's it stuck itself onto his blade. The other figure swung at the two and they dodged it quickly. Sasuke kicked it back and sliced through it with Chidori, the other one rushed back into the brawl and brought his large arm down to strike. Sasuke moved aside, below their feet the white substance stretched into the two pieces Sasuke struck down. Two more white figures emerged and rushed toward Sasuke and Miu. With a wave of her hands, the figures were pushed back with a strong force. 'I need to be cautious, if these things are bombs to, they could denote,' 

Soon they were surrounded by many figures, Miu pulled out a kunai, the blade extended with a light blue force from the power extending within her hands. She sliced through the figures as they tried to leap on her frame. Sasuke grabbed the hilt of his sword and cut through the large figure and cut through the leaping bombs as well. One exploded beside him, send Miu flying back and rolling away, dropping her kunai. "Sasuke?!" Miu called as the smoke cleared, Sasuke could be seen leaping through the smoke and into the forest with several bombs chasing after him. With a large explosion a large piece of wood flew into the meadow, Sasuke dropped down in front of Miu.

"Sasu-,"

"Get back Miu, this guy isn't going down without a fight," 

"But Sasuke!"

"I won't tell you again," He said coldly. Miu's head slowly dropped and she nodded. "Understood," She quickly hurried into a tall tree and stared down at Sasuke. On the other side of the meadow, Deidara reached back into his pouch and cupped his hands together. From a large poof of smoke stood a large white dragon, it opened it's mouth and vomited several large white balls at its feet.

'That thing is huge! Is it a bomb also?'

Sasuke rushed toward them, the large dragon opened its mouth a spit out a smaller dragon. It flew towards Sasuke, he dodged it. The dragon circled around and flew back down close behind Sasuke. Deidara smirked and brought his hand back to his face and with a shout, the bomb exploded. Sasuke barely dodged the impact of the bomb and flew into the air, regaining his footing on the ground. The smoke faded away, in front of him Deidara stood on top of his dragon. As the dragon began to take off into the air, Sasuke gave chase and extended a Chidori blade from his hand, the dragon was now too far into the sky for the Chidori blade to reach him.

"You copied that off Kakashi! But I will give you credit for that change in chakra form, that wasn't bad!"

Sasuke withdrew the blade and glared up at Deidara as his dragon spit out another flying dragon, slightly bigger than the previous one. "This one's got more bite than the last one! Blow him to bits!"

At the last second, Sasuke dodged the bomb and it smashed into the ground with a loud, bigger explosion. Suddenly as Sasuke's foot came down onto the ground a loud explosion sounded off.

"Sasuke?!" Miu shouted worriedly as he disappeared into the blast. She shuddered at the feeling she was all too familiar with. Sasuke could be sensed down below, but the form he took caused the girl to cower slightly in the trees. Tobi crawled from under the earth. "Partner! I set all of the land mine clay and we're good to go!!" He shouted to Deidara flying overhead. "Good work Tobi!"

'Sasuke, he's in trouble!' Miu clenched her as she watched on from above. Deidara's dragon spat up another dragon, a large one. He launched it directly at Sasuke ad he shielded himself with his large wing. In the large explosion Miu was pushed back off the tree branch she stood on and onto the ground below. "Ow!" She cried as she sat up, rubbing her lower back. 

"You shouldn't have used your wings as shields!" He said with a satisfied smile on his face, His dragon's mouth opened and another bomb began to take shape. Sasuke sat up from slightly and pulled a wire. Behind Deidara were two large flying shurikens. Deidara flew away and smirked. "Hmph! Something like that isn't enough to get me," The dragon shot the bomb from his mouth and Sasuke rushed toward his sword that was stabbed into the ground a few feet away from him. Sasuke leaped from the hilt that stuck out of the ground and his wing pushed him further into the air. His hand raised up and his Chidori blade struck the dragon's wing and he sliced it off with a single cut. Deidara's dragon began to tilt and fall toward the ground, Sasuke pulled the wire to his shuriken and they struck Deidara he howled in pain, as his arms were pinned to his dragon as it fell lower and lower to the ground. As the dragon slammed into the ground, the land mines began to go off in a large explosion. 

Miu looked up as Sasuke pulled himself to a tree with snakes shooting from his body. His curse mark form receded and she sighed of relief. 'He's okay after all,' 

From the large smoke, Deidara reappeared, bleeding and wounded. He glared down at Sasuke. 

"Obstinate," Sasuke muttered as he locked eyes with Deidara. 

Deidara reached into his pouch and grabbed a handful of denoting clay. To Miu and Sasuke's surprise, he began to eat it. 

"I've saved the best for last! This will kill you!! Tobi, run now!" His partner heeded his advice and rushed off into the forest. Deidara leaned over and his denoting clay began to shot from his mouth. The clay began to take shape and grow larger and larger. 

Sasuke and Miu stared up at the enormous shape of Deidara staring down at them. 

"What is that?" Miu asked with a shaky tone in her voice. 

Whatever she thought it was, she was sure it was a bomb.

And Deidara was ready to use it.


	19. Chapter 19 Clash Part.2

Miu stared up at the large Deidara in shock and awe. 'How are we supposed to fight that thing? It's huge!' 

"Miu!" Sasuke shouted. "Get away from here! Hurry!" He turned and ran through the tree and she rushed off away from the large clay as it gave chase after Sasuke. Miu obeyed her orders as she got further and further away from the large clay. Miu leaped high into a tall tree. From the top of the tree, she could see Deidara's large clay stopping and suddenly expand in size. As it grew and grew the clay suddenly exploded softly.

'It didn't explode like the other ones,' She noted. Sadly, she couldn't see Sasuke from where she stood. In the sky, Deidara stood on top of a clay bird, staring down at what she assumed was Sasuke. Suddenly she could see Sasuke appear behind Deidara with a Chidori at the ready. He struck his hand through Deidara's chest. Miu continued to look on and she noticed Deidara's body began to shape into clay and the real one emerged from the bird, taking hold of Sasuke's leg. Sasuke was then engulfed inside a large, round clay of Deidara while the real on leaped off the bird and fell to the ground. Sasuke burst through the clay and flew after him, crashing into the trees below. "Sasuke!" 

Miu bit her lower lip and climbed down the tree, she hurried back toward Sasuke. 'He can scold me later,' She said to herself as she rushed through the trees. "Sasuke!?" Miu called through the forest. Ahead, she came across a tiny clearing, Sasuke and Deidara stood a few feet away from each other, locking eyes. Sasuke was crouching down on his knee's and he turned to Miu.

"You even retracted your Sharingan. Do you really take me that lightly?" Deidara yanked off his shirt and tossed it aside. He brought his hand up to a tattoo with a long string through it. Deidara yanked the cord free and a large mouth opened from his chest, he reached into his pouch and pulled out a handful of clay, feeding it to the large mouth on his chest. Miu looked on in disgust and she nervously eyed him as his body began to become transparent. 

"This is my ultimate art, this time I'm going to detonate myself. In death, I shall become art itself, no one's seen an explosion like this. I shall leave a mark on the earth itself, and then, I shall receive more admiration than anyone's ever seen before!" He shouted with wide eyes and a large grin. "While I'll be admired you more definitely be dead!" 

"Sasuke, we have to go!" Miu said as she grabbed his forearm. Sasuke tried to pull himself up but to no avail. 'He's too weak to move!'

"This explosion will cover ten kilometers! You can't run away from this one, Hmph!" His body began absorbing itself into the mouth on his chest.

"Tremble, be afraid and recoil in despair, cower in awe," Deidara rose to his feet with a sickening smile. "And cry your heart out, because...my art...," Deidara completely disappeared into a small black ball that began to crack and white light peaked through the cracks. Miu hurried in front of Sasuke and held up her hands. As the light emerged from the ball, Miu held it back with her shield, the blast of the bomb began to push her back and she gasped as her shield began to crack from the incredible force. Then it shattered, Miu felt an arm wrap around her waist before everything went black.

****

Suigetsu stared up at the large light, astonished. "That was where our rendezvous point--Wait, is he!?" Suigetsu pulled out a scroll from his belt. He spread the scroll out onto the ground and dug out a small jar from his pouch. Suigetsu poured what look like blood in the middle of the scroll.

"Okay, add a drop of Sasuke's blood...Alright," He pushed his palm down onto the scroll. "Summoning Jutsu!"

A large poof of smoke erupting into the air. As it cleared it revealed a badly wounded snake a few inches from him. "This is Orochimaru's summons, Manda," 

From the mouth of the snake, Sasuke emerged with a wound Miu cradled in his arms. Sasuke dropped to his knees, attempting to catch his breath. "Woah! You're a mess Sasuke!" Suigetsu hurried over to the two and crouched down.

"You...Damned brat," Spoke a stern voice. They turned to the snake as he began to speak. "You...Used me! Controlled...Me with those damned eyes! How dare....you?"

"Oh well he's really dead now, wasn't Manda Orochimaru's favorite pet or something? You know, you ought to treat animals better,"

"There wasn't any time to think about it, I had no choice but to do this,"

"You hid inside Manda and teleported yourself to another dimension. So why are ou so beat up?" 

"Just before Manda and I jumped, we were hit by the blast wave,"

"Even Miu's wounded," Suigetsu said turning to the unconscious girl in his arms. "She got hit too, trying to buy time before we manage to escape," 

"There you are!!" Karin and Juugo were running towards them. 

"That Akatsuki member was stronger than I expected,"

"In any case, your going to need to rest and recover," Suigetsu said standing up. "How pathetic! Coming from the man who killed Orochimaru!"

"Orochimaru was already weakened, that's all I'll say about that," Sasuke replied looked down at Miu as she slept quietly. Her clothes were torn and tattered while her body was badly bruised. 

'Stubborn, you really don't listen to my orders,' 

"...Sas...uke," She whispered softly. 

****

Kurai held his hand out and a small ball of blood began to form in his palm. "Deidara, your lucky she's alive," 

"Kurai?" He turned to the soft voice. "Go back inside the hideout, it's not safe for you out here, Yaeko," The girl stood inside the entrance of the cave and stared at her friend with a worried expression. She possessed long flowing black hair and light purple eyes, she was dressing in a short yellow Yukata with two purple tassels dangling from her waist.

"Something's troubling you, isn't it,"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with," He said coldly. "I'm going back out, stay here until I return,"

"Y-yes, please be careful Kurai!" She shouted into the air but he had already disappeared into the forest.

****

Miu jolted out of her sleep and sat up straight, panting. She blushed and covered her breast with her arms, bandages were wrapped around her torso. The room was empty, she was alone. 

"Where's Sasuke?" Miu looked around the room, she spotted folded clothes beside her futon. 'Clothes?' Waiting for her was a waist high rose colored skirt and a red blush, off shoulder long sleeved top. Shaking her head Miu just stood up, ignoring the throbbing pain in her body. 'I have to find Sasuke,' 

"Hey, Miu! I'm coming in!" A voice shouted from the other side of her door. Suigetsu slid open her door. Miu froze and gasped as he stood in the doorway, their eyes locked, a perverted smirk slowly began to appear on his face. 

"Sui-Suigetsu!? Get out!!" Miu screamed with candy-colored cheeks. A strong, invisible forced Suigetsu back and into the wall behind him with a loud splat. She ran to the door and stared down at the smashed man. "I'm sorry Suigetsu!" Miu slammed the door closed with a loud cry. 

Outside of the town, Miu and Suigetsu approached the rest of the team, avoiding each other's eyes. 

"I said I was sorry, I didn't mean to stare,"

"Y-you should've knocked first," Miu stammered. 

"Look, we have to move quickly, Karin said we're being followed and I didn't think about it,"

Miu walked further away with a soft tint on her cheeks. "You smiled!" Suigetsu groaned and hurried to the gate. Up ahead, Miu spotted Sasuke pulling on his robes, his bruises and cuts were healed up but he still showed some injuries from their previous battle. 

"Sasuke!" He turned his head slightly as the two came closer. 

"What took you guy's so long?!" Karin snapped. "I was getting dressed, sorry. How are you feeling Sasuke?" 

"I'm fine, I managed to heal a lot faster," 

'He's okay, thank goodness,' She smiled softly at him as he stared into her eyes. Karin cleared her throat loudly. "Whether it's Akatsuki or The Leaf. They may have info about Itachi. Should we ambush them, Sasuke?" 

"If there are as many as you said, then odds are it's The Leaf," Sasuke replied. "Akatsuki only operate in two-man teams," 

"So, ambushing them would be a waste of our time," Suigetsu chimed in. "Agreed, we won't bother with The Leaf," 

"So what will we do, Sasuke?" Miu asked. He pulled out a scroll from under his robe. "We'll find Itachi, if we find him, then the worst cast scenario is the three of you having to fight The Leaf," Sasuke opened the scroll, revealing a small map with red marks on it. "For now, we follow up on what Juugo learned and we head to the various hideouts," 

"Understood," Miu replied and frowned. 'Sasuke is getting closer and closer to finding his brother....I'm sure he'll want to fight him alone,' They started to walk away, Miu followed beside Sasuke. 

"Has something happened between you and Suigetsu?" Sasuke asked, Miu nearly leaped out of her own skin and beads of sweat rolled down her face. "N-no, nothing," Miu muttered with her face turned pink. She turned her head away from Sasuke and marched on ahead. Leave him quite confused. 

****

They crouched behind the bushes and trees as they cautiously looked up at a cliff. "You four stay here and wait for my order, I'll check it out myself," Miu turned to Sasuke with a worried face. "Be careful, Sasuke," 

"Hmph," He hurried off, leaving the team behind.


	20. Chapter 20

Miu hugged her legs and sighed loudly. Her mind rampaged with a single question. 'Was Sasuke okay?' She sighed once more, Karin whirled around and growled. "Would you quit moping around!? It's irritating," 

"I-I'm sorry,"

"Would you calm down, Karin?" Suigetsu said as he glared at his angry teammate. "She's just worried about Sasuke," Juugo spoke up. "It's not like you need to hold his hand," Karin continued. "What's your relationship to Sasuke anyway?" Miu lifted her head up slightly and blushed.

"My relationship....We're...," Miu stopped and clenched her fist. Her heart fluttered with a mixture of feelings. 'What is our relationship....We're friends...right? Or am I still his servant?' I'm free now....but are Sasuke and I still connected?' Miu lowered her head into her knees and sighed again. 

"Well if she wasn't sad she is now," Juugo stated, Karin growled with irritation. A sudden feeling snapped her head back up. "That's Sasuke's chakra...he's fighting someone," They all rose to their feet. "Yeah, I sense someone else's chakra," Karin said with a serious expression. 

The team rushed in the hideout and ran through the dark hideout, Miu spun around the corner and spotted Sasuke in the center of a dark room, black feather rained down from above him. A strong feeling of relief washed over her.

"Sasuke!" Suigetsu called out, he turned to them with his red eyes glowing in the dark. "I thought I told you to stay back until I said otherwise,"

"Karin and Miu were worried and they sensed your chakra, so we got curious," Sasuke marched towards them "Let's go, we're moving,"

****

Sasuke lead the way towards their next destination, leaping from tree to tree. His speed increased with every leap. 

"There's a bunch of people with identical chakra all around us!" Karin warned. "Do we need to take another route Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked. 

"Ignore it, we'll charge straight through," Sasuke instructed. Up ahead a figure appeared in front of them. Miu recognized the person almost immediately. Naruto. The young man who broke into the hideout last time with his friends, attempting to retrieve Sasuke and return him to the village he came from. 

"Sasuke!!!!" He roared. A loud chirping sound was heard before Sasuke ran him through with his Chidori. The boy disappeared in a poof of smoke. 

"A clone?" Miu said with a surprised face. "Sasuke...Wasn't that--,"

"Naruto....He never gives up," Sasuke replied before continuing on. They continued following Sasuke. Eventually, they reached some ruins. Miu looked around them and turned to Sasuke with a worried face. "Sa-Sasuke, where are we going?" Miu asked. "To the Uchiha hideout, I'm going to settle the score with Itachi...once and for all," 

"Alone?" Miu said with a frantic tone. Before Sasuke could open his mouth to reply Karin called out to them from behind. "There's an incredible chakra coming and fast!!" They all came to a screeching halt on the roof of an old building. A large man wearing a black cloak with red clouds appeared before them. He possessed blue skin and facial features of a fish creature. 

"Sasuke if you would, please continue on by yourself," He said. "Itachi would prefer if the rest of us waited here," Miu clenched her fist and turned to Sasuke. 

"No problem, I only formed this team to make sure no one would interfere when I finally found him, this works out perfectly," Miu opened her mouth to speak. 

"That's crazy Sasuke! We should just defeat this guy and fight Itachi together!" Karin objected. "I'm really not in the mood for another fight, but if you insist on passing together, I won't go easy on you," The man replied with a firm grip on hs sword. "Don't even think about it, Karin you guys wait here, this is my revenge," Sasuke stepped forward and Miu grabbed his hand before he could hurry off. 

"Sasuke....Please be careful...Since I won't be with you, I'm worried about your healing...," She muttered. Sasuke turned to her with his red eyes locked into hers intensely. "I'll be fine...I won't lose, this is what I came to train under Orochimaru for," Miu nodded sadly and forced a small smile. "Wait here, no matter what, understand,"

"....Understood, Sasuke," She dropped his hand gently and he left without looking back. Miu watched him disappear. 

"Hoshigaki Kisame, and his great sword, The Samehada," Suigetsu began to step forward. "Do you remember me? I'm Hozuki Mangetsu's brother...Hozuki Suigetsu," A large smile appeared on Kisame's face, revealing sharp teeth. "Are you now? I didn't even recognize you! You've really grown Suigetsu," He laughed as Suigetsu grabbed his sword. "Since we're stuck here waiting for Sasuke, how about we kill some time? Let's have a little fun, Kisame," The two lifted their swords and stepped towards each other. "I see you haven't lost your mischievous streak, alright, I'll gladly shave a few layers off you!" 

"Suigetsu, are you sure about this? You're ignoring Sasuke's orders," Juugo stated. Miu stared at the two with their weapons ready. An idea popped into her head and she stepped back. "Be careful Suigetsu....This man looks strong,"

"I know," 

'If these two get caught up in their fight, I could sneak away,' This was her chance, Miu gripped her black cloak and watched them beginning their battle. The moment their swords connected Miu's body began to quickly become invisible, cloaking her and she took off.

****

The pouring rain soaked Miu as she stared up at the black flames in horror. "What are these? The rain isn't extinguishing them....," Miu held her hands out beside her. She began to lift herself from the ground and hovered over the flames, up ahead she could see a large hill with ruins around it. Miu flew towards the hill. 'Sasuke's chakra is dangerously low...He's not moving' She flew towards him faster and faster, the rain still pouring down. A gasp left her throat as she spotted Sasuke laying on a pile of rubble with another figure beside him. She dropped down beside Sasuke and placed her hand on his bare chest. He was covered in bruises and wounds, she exhaled as she felt his heart steadily beating. Miu looked up at the man laying beside him, he was just as wounded and beaten as Sasuke. His appearance resembled that of Sasuke. 

'Itachi..,' Miu turned back to Sasuke and lifted his head close to her chest, cradling him. She began to lower her head to meet his lips, a sudden presence appeared above her. Snapping her head up towards the direction of the man. She gasped as the masked man, the man she met before when Sasuke encountered Deidara. "You...,"

"Ah, it's you again," Miu was taken aback from his deep voice. "...You can't have Sasuke!" Miu shouted with a frown. "I'm not here to attack him...I want to simply talk with him," 

"Talk with him?" Miu clutched Sasuke closer and continued to eye him suspiciously. "He's wounded...,"

"I'll let you heal him, but I will bring the two of you back with me," He said, standing up from his sitting position. Suddenly, Miu and Sasuke were wrapped in darkness.


	21. Chapter 21 New Path

Miu wiped the sweat from her forehead with a free hand as she kept the other close to Sasuke's chest. 'He's lost so much chakra...and he's so wounded,' It was taking all of her strength to heal Sasuke. Her arms shook and her fingertips stung with a numbing pain, her arms stung slightly from the long hours. Sasuke moved every now and then, flinching in his sleep. A small smile formed on her pink lips. 'He's doing better...I would have just simply kissed him, it would've been faster...but that man is still here,' She could sense the masked man hiding in the darkness. Miu smiled as Sasuke's eyes began to open, his dark eyes slowly turning to meet her brightly colored ones. 

"Sasuke!" He slowly sat up and examined the bandages around his torso. "Is it too tight? Does it hurt?" She leaned close to him and he only shook his head. "Miu...Where am I?" 

"I'm not sure...I came after you Sasuke, I'm sorry,"

"I told you to stay away,"

"I know...but Sasuke, you brought me along with you because of my abilities, right? I'm doing my part, even if I have to disobey you," She smiled sweetly and sat up straight. Sasuke looked down his eyes filled with sadness. "And there's that man...He brought us here but he seems suspicious," 

"...A man?" Miu jolted as she sensed the man stepping closer. She spun around as he stepped out of the shadows. "Don't be alarmed...We've met once before, as enemies," He said, keeping his distance from the two. "Don't worry about what happened with Deidara, I'm no longer your foe," Miu balled her hands into a fist. After using up so much to heal Sasuke she knew she wouldn't be able to defend either of them. "Relax, I've brought you here to tell you something, Sasuke," Sasuke glared at him before lowering his head. "Not interested, I see," He stepped closer and Miu's eyes narrowed. "Maybe you'll pay attention if I say it like this...," He said. "It's about Uchiha Itachi," Sasuke looked up without saying a word. 

"There we go, you know so much about your brother and the same time, you know nothing," He reached for his mask. "All right, why don't I start by introducing myself?" He tilted his mask. "Like you, I'm a living, breathing Uchiha...And the man who knows the truth about Uchiha Itachi," Behind his mask revealed a Sharingan. Sasuke's eye began to bleed and his Sharingan began to change shape. A large black flame emerged on his shoulder. The man fell back into the darkness howling in pain.

"Ngh!" Sasuke groaned in pain, Miu turned to him with a face of concern. "Sasuke?! What's wrong? We should go....," He covered his eye as it reverted back to its onyx color. "What the hell was that...?" Sasuke looked back into the dark. "The Amaterasu that Itachi implanted into you," The man reached from the darkness and picked up the mask on the floor. He placed it back on his face and returned to them. "Itachi, even in death never ceases to amaze me," 

"What are you talking about?" 

"He equipped you with his own Jutsu as a last effort to kill me," He stepped closer to them. "Or perhaps his intention was to simply keep me away from you," 

"I have no idea what you're getting at," Sasuke replied. 

"Itachi did something to you just before he died, right?" Sasuke seemed to flinch as he remembered something. "At the last second, he transferred all his eye techniques to you,"

"That makes no sense....What are you trying to say?!" Sasuke asked, his temper clearing rising. "Why would Itachi do something like that?" 

"...You still don't know? It was to protect you,"

Sasuke couldn't hide the obvious shock on his face. "Protect me? Is that supposed to be funny!?"

"As I said before, you knew nothing about your brother," Sasuke clenched his teeth. "If you keep screwing with me, I'll kill you!" 

"I see talking to you is going to be difficult...I assure you, I speak the truth," He continued on. "You asked Itachi about the person who helped him that night. It was me, Uchiha Madara," Sasuke grabbed the sheet on top of him and squeezed. 

"I know everything there is to know about Itachi, he died without realizing how much,"

"Enough! I don't care anymore! Go away and never come near me again!!" Sasuke shouted in a loud fury.

"No, you need you to know about the man who risked everything to protect the ninja world, The Leaf Village and most of all his little brother," 

"He said it's enough!" Miu spat. 

"He needs to hear this, do you understand why Itachi transferred Amaterasu into your eyes?" Sasuke began to breathe heavily. "The last thing Itachi wanted was for you and me to cross paths, and if you listen to what I have to say, everything will make sense," Miu watched with increase panic as Sasuke's breathing became dangerous. 

"What are you talking about...To protect me? The...truth," Sasuke muttered under his breathe. Miu glared up the masked man, as he stood dangerously close to them. "Think back, remember your loving older brother," Sweat ran down Sasuke's face and his eyes widen.

"He...He tried to kill me...," He wheezed. "Tried to steal my eyes...," Sasuke began to breathe hard and cough loudly. 

'A panic attack?' Miu sat beside him. The masked man grabbed his face. "Get a hold of yourself, breath," Miu's eye's flashed a dark red and she held her hands up. A strong force pushed him away and into the wall. "Don't touch him!!" Sasuke fell over onto the mat and his breathing slowed. His eyes began to close, his body went limp. "Sasuke!? Sasuke?!!"

"He just fainted, calm down, he'll regain consciousness soon," The man froze and narrowed his eyes behind his mask. Miu's body engulfed itself in flame and she turned to him with vacant eyes. "What did you do to him!!?"

'This girl...She has similar powers to Kurai,'

"I won't fight you...If I do, he probably won't trust my words...," His red eye became visible through the hole in his mask. Miu froze and her flames began to die down. She dropped to her knee's and fell over.

"These two are going to be a handful...,"

****

Miu opened her eyes and found herself in the dark cave. She herself leaning against something warm and hard, turning to the source she locked eyes with Sasuke. 

"Sasuke? You're okay!?" He stared down at her with a tired and emotionless gaze. "Sasuke?" She looked around the cave. "Did that strange man leave? Sasuke?" 

"We'll talk about that later...There's been a change of plans...,"

"Chang--," Sasuke grabbed her chin roughly. "Sasuke?!" 

Miu's eyes snapped open as he planted a hard kiss onto her lips. Miu grabbed his shoulder and squeezed. An enormous rush of energy began to leave her body. Soon, her grip on his shoulder began to loosen. Miu pulled herself away to catch her breath and fell back onto the cave floor. "Sasuke?" She said weakly, he grabbed her arms and forced them above her head. "Sa-Sasuke, it's...too much...stop...," He stared down at her before returning back to her lips. The sensation of her energy rushing into his body and healing his wounds, sending new pleasurable feeling into him was something he couldn't get enough of. Sasuke pulled away and stared down the heavy breathing girl, her face flushed and saliva spilling from the corner of her mouth. 

"Sa....Sasuke....it's eno...ugh...," She felt as if all her power had been absorbed. Sasuke grabbed her face as she tried to turn her head away. He brought his lips back down and she tried to speak but it was muffled from his lips. Miu flinched under him as his tongue slipped past her lips and tangled itself with hers. She was familiar with his kisses, she used to kiss him a lot back when Sasuke trained under Orochimaru. This. This was something new. Sasuke never used his tongue in their kisses. There was never a reason to. Sasuke pulled away and stared down at her. "Sa...Sasuke...I...Can't take....anymore...,"

"Miu...I don't have Orochimaru anymore, which means my healing abilities are gone, I'll need you more often...So rest, that's an order...," 

"Understood....Sasuke," She said weakly.


	22. Chapter 22 Kurai and Miu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter! I just wanted to update!

Sasuke pulled away from her lips, her legs felt weak and she slid down onto the floor, breathing hard. She had rested the last few days, hoping she provided Sasuke with enough of her energy. "Go back and sleep, I'll come check on you later," He began to walk away and he stopped. "That's an order," He said sternly before walking away. +

"Understood...," When he disappeared down the hall, she pulled herself onto her feet. Miu forced herself to move down the hall and towards the room where she slept. She pushed opened the door and quickly collapsed on her bed. As soon as her eyes closed she drifted off into sleep. 

****

Sasuke took a seat at a large table, both his team and the Akatsuki stood in the room. 

"So you want to destroy The Leaf, but do you have an actual plan?" Madara asked as he sat on the table. "We eliminate the top tier, that's all I've come up with," Sasuke replied. 

"When you strike at the stop, they shield themselves with the bottom, it's not that easy. You hawk kids are still too inexperienced for this," Kisame retorted. Suigetsu turned to him. "Don't overlook us, Kisame we still haven't finished our little 'game',"

"Enough Suigetsu," Juugo said, quickly Suigetsu rushed toward Kisame with his sword ready to strike. Madara appeared in front of Kisame and held up his arm, blocking the sword. "Sasuke...Will you rein in your subordinates, please," 

"Suigetsu! This isn't the time!!" Karin scolded. 

"I'm after his sword, The Samehade! That's the only reason I went with Sasuke!"

"Well, Sasuke? Juugo questioned. "Right....Suigetsu, do what you want you can't beat him yet anyway," Sasuke said with a wave of his hand. Kisame grinned and chuckled.

"Whatever Sasuke, you'll apologize when I'm treating you to shark fin soup later," Suigetsu withdrew his sword. "At any rate, Akatsuki is currently lacking in numbers and capability,"

Sasuke turned to him. "Which reminds me...You have another masked man within the Akatsuki,"

"Ah, you mean Kurai," Kisame spoke. "He's a strange one, but strong,"

"...He tried to attack Miu, if he makes another attempt at her life, I won't hesitate to get rid of him," Sasuke said coldly. "I did notice something strange about that girl, she possess the same abilities as Kurai, he seems to think she's dangerous, I wouldn't know of his intentions since he's been missing," 

"Same abilities...?" Sasuke muttered. 

****

Miu slept in the soft bed, her head buried in the pillow. She felt her body softly twitch and stiffen. Her eyes snapped open as it soon became numb. 

'What's happening!?' She asked herself, she began to panic as her body began to sting all over as if she was being stabbed with tiny needles. 

'Get up..,' 

A shiver ran down her spine but she felt herself complying to the voice. Through no will of her own.Fear quickly began to take over as she began to walk toward the door of her bedroom. The voice guiding her every move. 'Sasuke!!'

****

Karin crossed her arms over her chest as looked Suigetsu up and down with an annoying look. "Why is Sasuke keeping Miu in that room all day? He's the one that should be resting, not her," Suigetsu shrugged from his chair. "Who knows what Sasuke's got going on in that head of his, all he ordered was to keep Miu safe from that creepy guy in the mask," 

"I wonder why that guy is after her anyway," Juugo said as he turned to them. "It doesn't add up but Miu doesn't seem like the kind of person to have anything to hide," 

Karin scoffed at his remark and adjusted her glasses. "Something off about her, even her chakra isn't normal, Sasuke had better know what he's doing if he's keeping her on this team," Suigetsu shook his head and chuckled. "Just admit it, Karin, your jealous because Sasuke keeps Miu at his side twenty-four seven,"

"Wh-who's jealous! I'm just saying that girl is strange! She even ran off the moment you and that Kisame guy starting fighting! She's up to something and I'm going to get to the bottom of it!!" Karin shouted. 

"Hey guys...," Juugo muttered. They turned to him and their eyes landed on Miu. She stood still in the doorway, staring at them blankly. 

"Miu...," Suigetsu stood up from his chair and walked toward her. "Don't listen to Karin, she's just rambling like always,"

She didn't respond, Suigetsu tilted his head and stared into her cold eyes. "Get....Away...,"

"Huh?" Karin flinched and stepped forward. "Suigetsu! Get away from her!"

Before Sugietsu could react an invisible force rushed through the room, sending them flying back and crashing into the wall behind them. A large hole broke down behind them, showing her a way outside. She followed it and stepped over the rubble. Juugo burst through the large rocks with Karin beneath him. 

"You okay?"

"Y-yeah, thanks, Juugo," She climbed out of the rocks and Suigetsu came from underneath the rubble beside them. "What the hell was that?!"

"Now do you believe me? That girl isn't who Sasuke thinks she is!"

"No, you're wrong...Somethings wrong with her," Suigetsu grunted as he pushed off a large rock. Karin pulled herself onto her feet and stared at the large hole in the wall. "We better go after her," 

"What's going on?!" 

They whirled around as Sasuke rushed into the room. 

"Sasuke, somethings wrong with Miu, she attack us and ran outside," Karin said. Sasuke turned to her and narrowed his eyes. 'Miu did?'

"Let's go," He ordered as he turned to the hole leading outside.

****

Miu stopped in the middle of the rocky area. She looked up at a large towering boulder, Kurai stared down at her holding out his hand, a small red orb sat in his palm. "Excellent, your quite easy to control!" He shouted from above. "You must be very obedient!" He jumped down from the boulder and came crashing down beside her. In an instant, his hand wrapped around her neck and squeezed. Miu slowly reached up and grabbed him wrist. 

"You can still move?" His grasp became stronger. She tried to summon her flames but to no avail, she felt as if something was blocking her flames. "W...Why?"

His eyes narrowed behind his mask. "You...You are a murderous monster! I won't forgive you," Miu's eyes teared up and she wheezed under his grip. "I...Didn't...,"

"Sa-Sasuke...," 

Beside him Sasuke lunged forward, his sword flying down. Kurai released Miu from his hold and she fell to the ground. Kurai leaped back, only to come face to with Suigetsu's large sword. Kurai bent himself backward as the sword scrapped against his mask. Kurai hurried away, only to hit another encounter with Juugo. His large fist slammed into Kurai's chest, sending him into a rocky wall. Kurai growled and held his hand up, flames roared in his palm. Sasuke suddenly appeared below him, his Chidori chirping in his palm. 

'He's fast!' Sasuke knocked his hand away with the hilt of his sword and he grabbed Kurai's mask. Chidori rang out loudly before Kurai's flame exploded. The blast sent them both back. Sasuke glared at Kurai as he emerged from the large dust cloud, his cloak torn and his head down. 

"Brat!" He lifted his head to reveal a shattering mask, as it crumbled Miu stared into his face intensely. Her face immediately paled as he stood up straight. 

"I warned you," Sasuke said pulling up his sword. "I don't care if your with the Akatsuki, I'll kill you,"

"Mio!!" Miu called out as she weakly got onto her feet. Kurai froze and glared at her. "Mio?" 

"Miu? You know him?" Suigetsu questioned. 

"He's my big brother...,"


	23. Chapter 23 Mio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't updated in a while! I'm sorry for the long wait everyone, with the new baby here, it's hard to find to update. I'll continue to update, though. Even if I have to do it with one hand. Thanks for being patient.

In a dark cave, a slender girl walked down the walls, holding a torch in her hands, lighting the lanterns along the wall. She turned a corner and entered a large circular room with a large chair in the center of the room. A man slept silently in the chair, his mask held firmly in his hand. Yaeko sighed and slowly walked over to him and leaned over, she reached over to grabbed his shoulder. In an instant, he reached up and grabbed her wrist. Yaeko hissed in pain and dropped the torch onto the cold cave floor. "...Yaeko....Don't approach me like that...It's dangerous,"

"Sorry Kurai!" She groaned as he released her wrist. "You shouldn't be sleeping here," Yaeko said sternly while hugging her wrist. 

"Tell me what is your obsession with this person?" Yaeko asked

"It was that day...That day my family was taken from me...My mother and sister. They laid dead at my feet,"

****

A loud cry began to echo throughout the house. Mikura dropped the knife in her hand and turned her head to the sound. "Miu?!" She ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs. When she reached a bedroom at the end of the hall she stood in the doorway and stared down at her two children. Mio stood in front of a crying Miu who sat on the floor beside a pink bunny tore in two. "What happened?" 

Mio stayed silent as he stared at his weeping sister. "Mio?" Mikura stepped closer toward them and crouched down. She stroked Miu's head as she cried. 

"I was just playing and...And I broke her stupid toy," Mio muttered with a pout. Miu looked down at her toy through her blurry eyes. 

"Mio...We talked about you playing so rough with your sister, she's still a girl,"

"It was an accident, I didn't mean to break it,"

"I know you didn't Mio, just apologize to your sister," Mikura said softly. Mio watched her stroke Miu's head gently, trying to soothe her. The look his mother was giving him quickly sent him over the edge. Why did always look at him like he was a bully? Why did she always have to take his sister's side? Mio glared harshly at his sobbing sibling and clenched his fist. 

"Stop crying already! Your such a big baby! I already said I was sorry!" He snapped, Mikura frowned at his remark and stopped rubbing her daughter's head. "Mio! That's enough!"

"Why are you always coddling her!? She's never going to grow up if you always treat her like a baby!"

"That's got nothing to do with the fact you broke her toy!" Mikura snapped back and stood up onto her feet. "I wouldn't have to comfort her and coddle her if you weren't always so mean to her, Mio!"

"I'm not the bad guy!!"

"Then stop acting like one!" Miu stared between her brother and mother as they shouted. Mio looked down at Miu and back up at his mother before turning towards the door and stomping out. A small sigh left Mikura's mouth as she heard the front door slamming downstairs. Miu stood up onto her feet and ran to the window. She watched Mio run through the forest and disappear. 

"Mio...," Miu said with a concerned tone. Her mother put a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry Miu, I know you hate to see us fight," 

'When I returned home that evening...I was feeling guilty, I upset both my mother and my sister, I was coming home to apologize and I what I came home too was nothing but horror. On the kitchen floor laid the corpses of my sister and mother and a single person standing at the front door, someone who used the same powers as my mother and she was strong, she chased me until I fell over a cliff and fell...As I fell to what I thought would be my death....I swore if I lived...I would find her and kill her,' 

Yaeko slowly lowered her head, not able to hide the sorrow in her eyes. A small smile appeared on Kurai's face and he stood up. He placed the mask back onto his face and stepped away from his large chair. Yaeko blushed as he placed the back of his hand on her soft cheeks. "Don't look so sad Yaeko....Once I get rid of her...We'll leave this place so you can live a normal life," Yaeko turned around as he made his way out of the room. "Stay here and I'll return shortly," Yaeko was left in the empty room. 

****

Present day.

Kurai stared at Miu with an enraged gaze. "What did you call me?" 

"Your Mio aren't you? Big brother!" Miu stepped forward and the sweating Kurai began to falter back. He cupped his head and over his head. 'She said big brother....Mio...' His head began to throb and he winced in pain. 'There's no way...,' He looked up at Miu. His head began to throb intensely again. Miu took a step towards him and he stood up straight. "Stay back!" The ground they stood on began to shake and rumble, a massive earthquake broke the earth apart. They all were split up and sent flying back from the strong push. 

Miu looked around her as she sat on the ground. A large crack in the large separated her from Sasuke. Karin turned to where Kurai stood his presence had disappeared. "Sasuke! That guy is going after Miu!" They turned to her as Kurai appeared behind her with aa murderous glare and a large flame in his hand, ready to attack. "We won't get to her in time Sasuke!" Suigetsu shouted from where he and Suigetsu stood. Sasuke ran towards her, leaping over the large cracks in the earth. Miu whirled around and met his gaze. "Big brother," She felt the sensation rush down her spine as her powers returned. Kurai suddenly froze in the air in front of her. An invisible force sent him back into the ground. Sasuke wrapped a single arm around Miu's waist and distanced them from Kurai. With an annoyed growl, Kurai looked up pat Miu and another throb caused him to hunch over and cradle his head. His vision began to blur and his sweating increased along with his rapid breathing. 

"Enough!" Kurai clenched his fist, digging his nails into his flesh, a drop of blood fell to the ground and from a large poof of smoke, an enormous black bird appeared. 

They stared at the huge bird in shock as it loomed over them. Kurai climbed onto the bird and Sasuke rushed towards him. "Sasuke wait!" Miu shouted. The bird flew into the air and flapped its wings towards them. The strong gust of wind pushed them back, Miu shielded her eyes from the wind. When the strong wind faded away, they looked back into the sky and saw Kurai flying away on his bird in the distance. Leaping onto her feet Miu stared up at the sky with sad eyes. 

"He got away," Sasuke spoke with an irritated tone. He turned to Miu who had yet to look away from the sky. Her eyes were filled with so much emotion, he had never seen her look that way. Miu looked down at Sasuke and hurried over to him, minding the crack in the earth. "Sasuke! Are you hurt?" 

"I'm fine...Let's get back to the Akatsuki hideout. We need to talk,"


	24. Chapter 24 Her Resolve

"Sasuke, Sasuke please!" Miu pleaded as she stared up at him with her big eyes. "Please, allow me this once, I need to speak with my brother," Sasuke walked around her. "No, he's none of our concern right now," Miu turned around and followed him deeper into the hideout.

"Sasuke, I can handle this on my own," Sasuke stopped and turned to her with a serious expression. "..He tried to kill you, I don't think you can do anything--," Miu cut him off with a panicked tone and grabbed his wrist with shaky hands. "Somethings wrong with him, he didn't even recognize me...but If I help him remember then maybe--," Sasuke frowned, his dark eyes piercing her brightly colored ones.

"I said no, right now our top priority is destroying the leaf village, go back and rest," He stepped back and headed down the hall. Miu stood alone, her mind going haywire. 'Big brother....He's alive, a part of me feels so relieved but...,'

Miu turned back towards her room as she was ordered. As she silently approached her door she froze. Her hands twitched at the door knob and she stepped back.

'Sasuke....I'm sorry....I can't...,' She grabbed the doorknob and made her way into the room. Miu quickly began to take off the clothes she wore. Her mind was set and a plan began to formulate in her mind. Beside the bed was a bag she searched through it for new clothes. Miu pulled out an off shoulder basic black long-sleeved crop top along with a short black and white skirt. She slipped on her shoes and grabbed her pouch. With a deep breathe Miu's body began to turn invisible before silently hurrying out the door.

****

Miu leaped up a large hill and stared down at a nearby village. "I can feel him, he's somewhere around here," The wind blew harshly causing her to turn her head as the strands of her hair slapped her cheeks. Miu brushed her hair behind her ears. Her eyes fell onto a mountain in the distance beside the village. She frowned and clenched her fist. "He's there...," Miu rushed down the hill and headed for the mountain.

"Mio!"

****

Mio's head snapped up as he felt a surge of energy run up his spine. Yaeko turned her head to him as he cupped his forehead. "Kurai, are you alright?" His red eyes fell on her and he stood up straight. "Yaeko, get out of here, it's about to get dangerous,"

"Huh? Wait, I can't just leave you here Kurai," She said panicked. "What if you become killed?"

"Nothings...going to happen,"

"How can you be so sure?"

Mio froze. "I just do...So just believe me and get out of here," Yaeko nodded and headed toward an exit in the cave. She stopped at the tunnel and whirled around.

"Um...Y-you better not die Kurai.....And that's an order!" She blushed at her tough girl act and ran out of the cave. Leaving Kurai alone, a warm smile appeared on his lips. "Yes, Master,"

****

Miu walked quietly through the tunnel, cautiously. She clenched her fist tightly, her nails sinking into her skin. As the tunnel was coming to an end she locked eyes with a pair of red ones.

"Big brother, Mio," Miu muttered, her heart was pounding in her chest as she and her brother stared into each other's eyes in the darkness.

Miu gasped as he disappeared from the darkness and she leaped forward. Mio appeared behind her with a rather large ball of flames appeared from his hand. Miu quickly became invisible and he narrowed his eyes. 'I'll really have to fight him, huh....I can do this,' She took a deep breath softly and began to move in the dark.

"You really do have the same abilities as me...," He mumbled as he stared down at his flame. Miu lunged at him and he felt a strong kick to his abdomen. Mio slid back but quickly came back to his sense, he reached forward and Miu gasped as his grabbed her throat in a tight hold. "Is that all the power you have?"

'He can see me!?' She grabbed his wrist and tried to pull herself away. Mio pulled back the hand that held the ball of flame. He threw it against her chest like a punch. Miu cried out as the force of the large flame sent her flying into the wall. Her body became visible immediately and she fell to the floor. Miu pushed herself off the ground and stared up at Mio as he made his way towards her. She got onto her feet and threw herself to the side as he threw a large ball of flame. Miu continued to dodge the balls as he gave chase. In the blink of an eye, Mio appeared in front of her instantly and held both his hands out. Miu held her forearms up and a shield formed in front of her, waiting for the impact. An enormous flame shot out of his hands like a flame thrower. She felt her feet being pushed back but she dug her heels into the ground attempting to stop his strong push. Mio smirked and he pulled his hands back and pushed them forward as if he were pushing her back. Miu screamed as her shield cracked and shattered loudly in front of her.

'He broke...My shield. How!?' Mio disappeared and Miu looked up. He held his hand out and an invisible forced slammed down on her. Her body was forced onto the ground. Blood rushed from her nose and mouth as her body plunged into the earth. Miu's body stung in pain all over, every muscle ached. Mio landed in front of her body and stared down at Miu.

"I was expecting you to be a lot stronger than this....But in the end, you were just weak, how disappointing,"

'He's fast...Just as fast as Sasuke, and strong too....,' Miu struggled to get up but the moment her torso got off the ground she collapsed back down. She stared up at Mio as her eyes teared up. 'I still remember that day...I thought you were dead, and now you don't even recognize me,' Mio lifted his hand up to bring forth another large ball of flame.

'Big brother Mio!!' He flinched and cupped his forehead. 'What is this?!' His head throbbed and Mio began to step back further and further.

Miu took this chance and began to quickly heal her body, she winced. 'He cracked my ribs...I need to be careful this guy...Mio is strong, stronger than me,'

Miu quickly got up and stared at Mio. 'His head hurts huh.....That's it! I get it now....Big brother lost his memory, if I can get close enough to him, I can restore his memory...If I remember how to do this, it's like healing....wait or did I have to use my telekinesis!? This is the worst time to be clumsy Miu!" She grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled harshly. "Geez...," She stopped and stood up straight as Mio began to regain his composure.

"Big brother! Please, it's me, Miu! Your little sister,"

"Enough of your trickery....!," His blood red eyes began to gleam brighter. Miu screamed as a strong forced slammed her into the wall behind her. She fought through the pain and engulfed her body in flames. Miu forced herself forward and she flew towards him and reached for him. 'Almost there!' Mio stared at her in shock but she extinguished her flames as her fingers grazed his forehead. Mio jolted back as his head began to throb. He snarled and his hand grabbed her throb and held her off the ground. Mio glared at her with his red eyes. Miu suddenly felt her body beginning to throb and blood rushed from her throat and splattered to the ground in front of her, Mio stared at her as Miu's blood rolled down his face. "I've damaged your internal organs and nervous system, this a paralysis technique I created a little bit again," His hands loosened around her neck, Miu fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

'I can't move...,' She stared blankly at Mio as she laid lifeless in front of him.

"Now die," He held his hand over her and it was surrounded by red lights. Mio flinched and leaped back as a figure stood in front of Miu.

"Miu...You've become rather reckless, haven't you?"

A feeling of relief washed over her. 'Sasuke...,'

Sasuke held his sword out beside him as he and Mio stared into each other's eyes. "Hey! Your completely worthless, Miu! Sasuke came all this way even while's he's injured just to come save you!" Karin shouted from behind her. Suigestu kneeled beside Miu and examined her. "Hey, what's wrong with her, Karin?!"

"How should I know?!"

"Who's useless now?" Suigetsu snapped.

"She looks paralyzed," Juugo stated as he kneeled beside Miu.

"You're in the way," Mio snapped. "Miu, I don't know what you're planning but I can't guarantee his life," Sasuke said without turning to Miu. Sasuke rushed forward with a swing of his sword. Mio barely dodged him as he rushed to the side. Mio pulled out a kunai as Sasuke brought his sword down. Mio's eyes widen in shock as Sasuke's Chidori blade collided with his Kunai. Mio clenched his teeth as the kunai began to break. From where she laid Miu could see Mio's free hand beginning to move.

'He's about to paralysis Sasuke! I need to move! Now!' She felt her hand twitch as she felt the life coming back to her. 'Don't touch him! Don't!'

Sasuke's eyes darted to the side as Miu appeared beside Mio. She slammed her head down onto his and knocked him off his feet. "Don't touch him!!"

Sasuke watched at the two rolled away onto the ground in a loud crash. Miu sat up quickly, blood slid down her forehead and rolled past her nose. Mio pushed himself off the ground, his own blood rolling down his face and blood rolling into his right eye, Mio closed his eye and turned to Miu. His head began to throb from the impact of Miu's head.

'If I can just...Immobilize him for a few seconds I can...Do it... Restore his memory,'

'She broke free from my paralysis....To protect him,' Mio glared at Miu harshly. 'She still has the willpower to fight,'

Miu forced herself to her feet and breathe heavily. "Miu, that's enough, stand down," Sasuke ordered. Miu fell onto her knees. "But I can still fight...," She muttered.

"You...How can you fight through my paralysis? Just what are you fighting for?" Mio questioned as he watched repeatedly trying to get up.

"My brother....I just want my brother back,"

Mio's head throbbed and he cupped his forehead. "This girl....Who are you?" Mio felt his vision becoming dizzy. 'I need to get out of here and find Yaeko!' Mio wiped the blood from his forehead and held it out in his hand. A drop of blood dripped onto the ground. In a large poof of smoke, an enormous black bird appeared in front of them. It screeched loudly and they all covered their ears in an attempt to block out the sound.

Miu gasped and began to rush toward him but Sasuke stepped in front of him. "Sasuke...He's going to get away...,"

"You're in no condition to fight," Sasuke said sternly holding his arm out in front of her. Kurai leaped onto the large bird and it spread its large wings, the cave began to rumble and the walls began to fall apart. "Juugo grab Miu and let's get out of here!" Sasuke shouted. Miu felt something wrap around her body and she was pulled toward Juugo. Sasuke and the other began to retreat as Mio's bird burst through the roof of the cave.

When they got outside Miu watched as the bird took off into the sky with lighting speed. 'Mio! I was so close!'

Sasuke eyed the black bird flying into the sky and glanced back at Miu as they ran. Tears fell from her cheeks as they got further and further away. Sasuke looked back ahead and clenched his fist.

****

Miu screamed loudly as pain surged through her body. It stopped and she writhed in pain on the ground.

"Sa..Sasuke...," Miu whimpered as she tried to get up. She screamed again as she felt his Chidori surging through her body. Miu fell back onto the ground and gasped in pain.

"So, you can still move?" She felt his attack getting stronger and stronger. Miu screamed out again and dug her nails into the ground. The pain stopped altogether and she panted. "So..rry....Sasu...uke....Sor...Sorry," Miu wheezed and Sasuke stepped closer to her. "My order is not to be ignored, I already told you what our main objective is, right?" Miu began to wail as pain invaded her body once more from his Chidori. Blood rolled down the corner of her lips. Sasuke stopped and stared at her wounded body. Miu's body was covered in cuts. She clenched her shirt in her hand as she tried to fight through the pain. "Sasuke...Sorry....Sorry,"

Miu felt Sasuke lift her off the ground, he made his way to the bed and gently laid her down. She watched helplessly as Sasuke crawled onto the bed and hovered over her. As he lowered his head down she began to panic. Miu weakly reached up and grabbed his shoulders, her nails dug into his shirt. "S-Sasuke!...D-Don't! I don't have any energy!" She panted. Sasuke ignored her cries and pressed his lips against hers and she felt her energy being drained. Miu's words were muffled by his lips. Her body felt as if it were being pierced with needles as her energy began to dissipate like smoke. Her fingers and toes continued to throb until she felt darkness starting to come into her vision. "Sa-Sasuke...Sa...S...ke...," Miu's hands loosened and dropped to her sides as she fell into a deep slumber. Sasuke slowly pulled away from her lips. He stared down at her sleeping form, Sasuke cupped her cheek and pecked her lips once more before getting up.

'Miu,'


	25. Chapter 25 My Namie

'Brother escaped....Now I have to find him all over again and quick, I have to restore his memory,' She wrapped the bandages around her forearm. Miu stopped rolling the bandage around to examine her wounds and bruises. 'I'm so concerned about brother....I had forgotten where I got these wounds....Sasuke was very angry with me, I don't know if I can go out and face him,' She sighed loudly before rolling the bandage around her arm again. 'I can't even heal myself with the lack of energy I have,' She glanced at herself in the mirror, light bags could be seen under eyes. 'If I ask Sasuke for some more time I could store a mass amount of energy for days...,' Truthfully, she was scared to ask him, his mood since the battle with his brother had been dicey at best. Sometimes he was mean and other times he was just plain cold and distant. Not just towards her but towards everyone. 

Miu put the roll of bandages down and stood up from the small chair. She made up her mind to talk with Sasuke, hoping he was in a better mood. Miu headed toward the door and poked her head out. The corridor was empty but she could hear shouted at the end of the hall. Miu stepped out of her room and followed the voices. As she got further down the hall the voices got louder. She connected the voice to Suigetsu and Karin. They sounded as if they were bickering. At a table, Sasuke sat at the head of the table staring at the two bickering team members. Miu approached Sasuke from behind silently.

"Miu, you're up already?" Juugo questioned from beside Sasuke. Miu nodded and flashed him a small smile before turning to Sasuke and meeting his eyes as he turned to her. "Miu, I didn't send for you," Sasuke said coldly.

'Great...He's not in a good mood...,' She thought, clenching her fist. "Um...I know but if I could just speak with you, privately....I have something to discuss with you," She stammered, staring down at her own feet. Sasuke didn't reply he just rose from his seat at the table and began walking back towards her room. Miu felt the team's eyes on her before following Sasuke silently. Miu followed him, her heart beating in her chest, her hands were sweaty from being clenched up for so long. Was she always this nervous around Sasuke? She couldn't remember well. Miu bumped into something hard and she looked up from the ground. Her face flushed as she stared up into Sasuke's dark eyes. He held her shoulder tightly to prevent her from falling backward.

"What did you want to talk about, Miu?" Sasuke asked breaking the silence. Miu shook her head trying to come back to her senses and stepped back. "I just....I haven't been able to completely heal your wounds because of my lack of energy...So, I was wondering if...If you would let me rest for an entire day or two without....interrupting me so I can heal properly...and heal you of course....That's all," Sasuke didn't reply right away, but she turned her eyes away from his.

"Miu, you have one objective and I see no use for you if you can't accomplish it, is that understood." Miu felt her heart throb from his harsh words. Without looking up at him she simply nodded. "I understand, Sasuke," Miu replied in a hushed tone. "If you truly understand, then go back and rest, and don't come out until I come for you myself," He said with a glare. Miu nodded as he walked past her coldly, heading back down the corridor. Miu grabbed the door knob to her room and went inside without another look back at Sasuke.

Later that day, Miu laid in her bed and stared up at the ceiling, just waking up from her slumber. She rubbed her eyes and turned her head to the door. 'What time is it?'

She pushed herself up on her elbows before sitting up in the bed. A sudden knock at her door made her jump but she replied quickly. "C-come in!" The door opened and Suigetsu stepped inside holding a tray of food. "Geez, since when did I become Sasuke's errand boy?"

"Suigetsu?" Miu called his name in a surprised manner. "What are you doing here?"

"Sasuke wanted me to bring you dinner since your resting and all,"

"Oh, thank you," Miu lowered her head and pursed her lips, trying to mask her sadness. Suigetsu stared at her before walking over to her table to place the tray down. "So," He began, trying to break the awkward silence. "That guy was your brother," Miu looked up at Suigetsu. He flinched as tears threaten to spill from her eyes.

"Wait! I just asked a simple question!" He shouted walking over to her. Miu wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. "Sorry...," Suigetsu groaned as he plopped down beside her. "Look, I'm not the consoling type so don't go whining, I'll get stressed out,"

"I understand....But I don't know whether I'm happy or sad,"

"What do you mean?"

"Mio's alive and yet he doesn't any memory of me,"

"So, what happened that day? Do you remember?" Miu just silently shook her head. "I remember it and I always will,"

****

"Wow! So many veggies mom!" Miu squealed as she watched her mother simply grow food with the wave of her hand. "It's making me hungry?"

"Oh? So how do you feel about tomato soup for dinner tonight?"

"I want some!"

"Aren't we always eating that?" Mio complained from behind them. Miu and Mikura turned to Mio, he was sitting against the wall of the greenhouse with a book to his face. "So, what would you like for dinner then, Mio?"

"I don't know....Anything other than that disgusting tomato soup," Miu frowned at her brother's words. "Mother's tomato soup is not disgusting!"

"It's only because that all you ever want to eat, I can hardly stand the thought of it!" He shouted back, slamming his book down to the ground. Miu stood up from where she sat by her mother and made a fist. "Then go make dinner by yourself!" Miu replied sticking her tongue out.

"You're the most annoying person!!" He snapped, standing up from the ground. Mio slammed his books closed and walked out of the greenhouse. Miu crossed her arms and puffed up her cheeks with tears in her eyes. She sat down and frowned at the ground. Mikura sighed and stared down at Miu. "You two can never see eye to eye huh?"

"He's so mean sometimes," Her mother nodded in agreement. "But you also have a habit of pestering him, Miu," Her mother turned back to the garden and touched the soil with the tip of her finger. "You two are very special, more so than I and your late aunt,"

"What do you mean, Mommy?" Miu asked turning to where her mother dug her fingers. "The abilities you two possess are endless, alone you are weak, together you are strong," Miu tilted her head in confusion unaware what her mother's words meant. "Try to make up with your brother...You two will need each other for as long as you live,"

"Mom, I still don't get it....,"

Mikura chuckled and ruffled her hair. "You will eventually," Miu pondered her thoughts and stood up. "Alright, I still don't get it but I'll make up with Mio!" She stated with a smile. "Good girl,"

"I'll be back later!" Miu shouted as she ran out of the door.

"Alright, don't be gone too long, it's almost dinner time!" Mikura looked down at the soil where she removed her fingers and a single flower blossomed. Mikura plucked the flower and smiled gently. "Those two are a handful...,"

Later that evening, Miu held an armful of shiny red apples. She looked up a large hill. Smoke rose from the chimney of the house. Miu held a bright smile on her face, excited to see the look on her brothers face when he saw the apples on her arms. "Mio! Mom! I'm home!" Miu shouted as she opened the door to the house. As the door slammed open, Miu stepped inside. An Apple slipped from her arm and rolled deeper into the kitchen. Miu let out in aggravated sigh, she chased the apple into the kitchen. Her foot stepped onto something slippery and she gasped as her body came crashing into the ground. Miu let out a loud squeal as her back connected with the kitchen floor. The apples fell from her arms and rolled around the kitchen.

"Ow...," Miu sat up and rubbed her aching back. She looked at the floor trying to locate the cause of her slip and fall. A moist feeling on her hand caught her attention. Lifting her hand to her face, she froze with shock. 'What is it....? Is this blood?' From underneath her was a pool of blood leading further into the kitchen.

"M-Mommy!? Mio!" Miu got on all fours as she followed the trail of blood in front of her. In front of her, two bodies laid on the kitchen floor. Her mother, with a large cut through her back. Laying across Mio with blood spilling from his head.

"...Mio...Mom...,"

"I knew I heard another voice!" A large man stumbled from the hallway. A hairy man with a large knife in one hand and a jug in the other. "Get in here!" Two other men came down the hall behind him. "Oh and it's a girl, she'll sell well,"

"Don't kill this one, the mother and boy would have made us a fortune,"

Miu couldn't process what they were saying but her body was shaking from fear. The only thing that she wanted to do was run. And she did, without saying a word she turned on her heels and dashed through the door. She could feel the men giving chase, the ground felt as if it were shaking. Miu felt her heart aching as she got further and further away from the house. 'Mom! Mio!!' Her eyes stung from the tears as she kept going, ignoring the sore muscles from her legs. 'Someone! Help me!' Miu's breath hitched in her throat the moment the ground disappeared from beneath her foot. She gasped as she began to fall down the cliff below. This was the cliff her mother always warned her about. Mui felt herself falling, darkness surrounded her, she grew cold and tears rolled down her cheeks as her mother and brother seemed to hold their hands out for her. Miu lifted her hand to reach for her brother's hand but their fingers lightly touched and she fell to the darkness below.

****

Miu felt Suigetsu hand stroking her head. She lifted her head to look at him. "Well, even if this guy is your brother,"

"He is! I'm sure of it,"

"I get it, calm down, I'm just warning you, don't get carried away, sometimes things are better left off as they are," He got up from the chair and stretched over his head. "I'll see you later, don't worry, you are strong and a bit stubborn," He stepped toward the door and flashed a smile at her. "Get some rest, Miu,"

"Thank Suigetsu,"

"Yeah...Yeah...,"

****

In the mountains, far from Miu. A screaming echoed through the tunnels of the mountains. Yaeko sat on a large bed and held Mio's head firmly in her grasp, against her chest, trying her best to console him. "We're almost done, Kurai...Just a little more time and I can repair your memory,"

Mio clenched his teeth, trying to fight through the pain. He pushed off her and sat up. Sweat rolled down his face. Mio cupped his head in his hands. "That's not my name...My name is Mio,"


	26. Chapter 26 The Eight-Tails

"Miu...Miu, wake up," The dark voice made her turned over onto her side. She sighed softly before slowly opening her eyes. Sasuke stared down into her eyes with a serious expression. When she realized who he was, Miu sat up straight and opened her mouth to speak but Sasuke started talking before her. "Miu, get dressed, we're leaving,"

"Le-leaving? Where are we going?"

"To capture the eight tails....Just get dressed and I'll explain on the way," He turned around and headed for the door. "Yes, Sasuke," He looked at her before opening the door and heading out. Miu sighed and got up from the bed. 'At least I can come out of my room,' She stretched her arms over her head and walked over to the dresser to grab her clothes. Miu stopped when she saw the new black cloak on top of her clothes. On the black cloak were red clouds. She picked it up and held it against her body. 'Huh? Are we wearing these robes now?' Miu shrugged and thought nothing of it before taking off her clothes.

****

The guard flew back into the fence with a loud groan. Suigetsu stretched his arm through the fence and forced his forearm around the guard's neck. "So, where's the eight-tails?" The man turned to Suigetsu with a scared yet determined expression. "Don't underestimate ou4 clan....I've got no intention of telling anything to the likes of you," Suigetsu's hold got tighter and he groaned. "N-No one in the Yotsuki Clan will ever betray our comrades," Sasuke walked toward them. "In a fearful heart, weak spots will always arise," The guard shook as he locked eyes with Sasuke. "Hey, Suigetsu let him go, Sasuke's using his genjutsu," Karin said from behind Sasuke. Suigetsu let go of the guard and sighed with disappointment. "Man, and I was just about to have my fun tormenting him,"

"Tell me where the eight-tails is," Sasuke ordered.

"In...The Lighting Cloud Gorge, training," He replied in a drowsy tone.

"How can we identify him?"

"He carries...Eight swords....On his right shoulder there's a tattoo that says Iron and on his left cheek bulls horns," The man collapsed to the ground with a loud thump. Sasuke turned around with sharp eyes leading the team towards their next goal. Miu clasped her hands together over her chest with worry over her face. 'Sasuke....The air around him feels cold...,'

****

Miu followed behind Sasuke as they arrived at a large opened area, with tall, tall stairs ahead of them. A large man appeared from the large set of stairs. He had dark skin and a muscular build, as well as white hair and a goatee.

"Are you the Eight-tails Jinchuuriki?"

"Hmm? That's Are you the Eight-tails, sir or are you the great and powerful Jinchuuriki!?"

"I'll capture him, Suigetsu, go right. Juugo left. Karin and Miu get behind me and stay prepared at all times," In the blink of an eye Suigestu rushed toward the man and swung his sword. The sound of a loud boom from the clash made the ground shake.

"The Akatsuki told us not to kill the Jinchuuriki, Suigetsu,"

"Don't worry, I can feel his chakra loud and clear," Karin replied as she looked forward sternly. The man held Suigetsu sword with his bare hands. Suigetsu stared at him with shock. "The only one who's allowed to hit me is myself," He threw Suigetsu sword into the air and it crashed to the ground behind the large man.

"Just step back Suigetsu," Juugo called. Suigetsu retreated beside Miu and Juugo stepped forward. The man lifted Suigetsu sword up in front of him and stared at Juugo through the large hole. "I am peeping at you, see cause ya not right through, but in all of your crew your brain cells are few," Juugo growled at his words and charged forward. "Stop joking around!!" The man slipped his head through the hole of Suigetsu's sword and spun it around his neck like a toy. "Bloodlust bravery makes me go ballistic, knowing you can't stop me makes me optimistic, my blades going 'round and next, you're going down," The handle of the blade crashed into Juugo neck, he stumbled backward. "C'mon and get your feel my sweet awesome skills, yeah!" Juugo quickly activated his curse mark and his arm shifted. He grabbed Suigetsu sword off his neck. After a loud sound by the contact with his fist to Juugo's side, he fell over with blood rushing from his mouth.

Miu flinched at the site as the muscular man grabbed Suigetsu sword and leaned against it. "My powers are flash and there's still more in my stash. Eight-tails that be me the rapping Killer B, yeah!" He turned to the rest of the team before speaking again. "This battle you initiated but I'll leave you humiliated, so before you get disintegrated, Tsk! Ow...I bit my tongue,"

"Ugh...What's up with this guy, he's crazy yet he managed to take down Juugo," Karin muttered in a worried tone. Killer B lifted Juugo by his collar and threw him over towards their feet with little to no effort. Miu rushed forward and kneeled beside him. "Are you alright, Juugo?"

"Ye-yeah,"

'Nothing, serious.... Thank goodness,'

"I'll handle this," Sasuke stated as he walked forward. "Who are you guys! Why are you trying to capture me?"

"I'm under no obligation to tell you,"

"Why do we have to capture this rhyming guy anyway," Suigetsu asked with an annoyed tone.

"It's to gain power as quickly as possible, if you don't like it then leave," Sasuke responded. "I also want to confirm the Akatsuki's promise, whether they plan to give us the tailed beast is true," Sasuke slid his out from his cloak sleeve. "Regardless, we'll be the ones using the Akatsuki, not the other way around, so all of you keep that in mind,"

'I'll have to help him in any way I can,' Juugo and Miu stood up and turned to Sasuke.

"Alright, fine, let's get this over with and shut up this worthless pain in the ear," Suigetsu shouted.

"That is the plan...,"

"Check it, I got super rhymes and charming flow, fool!"

"Urgh...What a joke! And not to mention he's got zero rapping talent!!" Karin snapped. Miu put a hand to her mouth to hide her chuckle. "Hold on fool, no need to be cruel!"

"Be quiet!!!" She shouted.

Sasuke ran toward Killer B and jumped into the air. Killer B grabbed Suigetsu sword beside him and blocked Sasuke's strike. Sasuke flew back and Killer B swung the large sword toward Sasuke but he blocked it with his own. The force of the sword pushed Sasuke back, he quickly leaped up into the air. Sasuke spiraled down toward Killer B, who stopped spinning with Suigetsu's sword. He looked down at the sword to see Sasuke's sword stuck into the hole of Suigetsu sword. Sasuke spun from the hilt of his sword and planted a firm kick onto Killer B's chest. Killer B dropped the sword to the ground and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a book and pencil to jot down something with a soft mumble. Sasuke picked up Suigetsu sword with his own and threw it back towards him. Suigetsu caught it and looked back where Sasuke stood. Killer B closed his book and stuffed it back into his pocket. "I'm feeling hella fine, I just wrote the baddest rhyme, thank you," He reached behind himself and grabbed his two swords. "Not I'll play with you tool, you teensy baby fools," Killer B launched all his swords into the air.

"Watch out Sasuke! This guy is clearly used to handling blades, he's no ordinary ninja," Suigetsu shouted. The team stood stunned at the stance Killer B was now in. He has a sword in every part of his body, from between his neck to the back of his bended knee. "Quickly, take a look, cause now I'll give you a taste of my hook,"

"This looks dangerous...," Miu whispered.

Everyone grew quiet, the only sound that could be heard was the wind. The moment Sasuke saw Killer B move his eyes flashed that dangerous red. Killer B flew up into the air and came toward Sasuke with amazing speed. They were quickly locked into a battle of close combat with their swords. Miu looked on, her hands clenched closely together. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her stomach in knots. Miu heard herself gasp when Sasuke was pushed across the field and his sword on the opposite side.

"Sasuke are you okay!" Karin shouted. Sasuke got up and held out his hand.

"His moves are crazy, I can't predict his moves at all,"

Sasuke's Chidori rang loudly as he eyed the sword. He ran towards his sword and picked up the sword. He rushed toward Killer B and swung it toward him.

They collided swords and they all froze. Killer B blocked Sasuke Chidori blade with his own sword, streaming his chakra. Killer B smirked and his arms raised.

"First, I'm gonna float and fly like a butterfly," He knocked Sasuke's sword away and stabbed Sasuke with all his swords but one. "Then I sting ya like a Killer B," Miu's eyes widen from the shock as Sasuke flew back from the force. Miu ran toward Sasuke's as he fell to the ground. Miu looked down at him in horror, she dropped to her knees and examined him. "Sa-Sasuke!" Killer B came flying toward her and Sasuke, his sword ready. "Now for the killa blow!!" Miu clenched her teeth and a frown appeared on her face, she lifted her hand up and her fingers began to burn.

"Miu!!" Sasuke snapped. She flinched and dropped her hand. Suigetsu sword met Killer B's as he shielded Miu from the blow. "Suigetsu,"

"Get Sasuke out of the way!"

Killer B's sword quickly began to stream lighting and cut through his sword. Suigetsu winced and began to lose his solid form. Sasuke quickly used his Chidori and touched Suigetsu's sword. Killer B's Lighting disappeared. Juugo appeared from behind him and slammed his large shifted fist into Killer B. Karin and Miu quickly pulled Sasuke away from the scene. Miu pulled the swords from Sasuke's wounds. Karin leaned forward and pulled up her sleeve. "This isn't good! Hurry up and bite me," Sasuke forced himself up and bit down on Karin's arm. She cried out as his teeth contacted her skin. His wounds quickly began to close and heal.

'Sasuke....Why won't you let me....Help you?'

Sasuke got up from the ground and rose to his feet. "Miu, stay here unless I give the order,"

"Ye-yes Sasuke...," She grabbed her cloak and squeezed it. Sasuke stepped forward where Juugo and Suigetsu stood. Karin and Miu watched as the three fought Killer B. Miu simply watched as Sasuke fought alongside Juugo and Suigetsu. She wanted so badly to fight alongside him, but she stayed put, following his order. Miu snapped out her thoughts when she heard Suigetsu screaming. Miu looked ahead and watched as Sasuke used his Chidori on both Killer B and Suigetsu. Suigetsu held Killer B's fist inside his abdomen. Juugo appeared from behind Killer B, he raised his fist above his head and came down with a loud crash. Sasuke pulled Suigetsu back toward from the area. Sasuke glanced at the large crater, no longer seeing Killer B.

"Karin!"

"Got it!" She closed her eyes tightly. She turned toward a large rocked and pointed. "He's there!" Juugo launched Sasuke into the air toward Killer B. Killer B came from around the large rock in a strange form, he was covered in an orange aura. Sasuke dodged him but Killer B kept flying down toward the team. Juugo stretched his arm over Miu, Karin and Suigetsu, and jumping to the ground below. Killer B landed on the platform above and Sasuke hurried to the team. "Is everyone alright,"

"Yes," Karin replied.

"He definitely has speed and power but he only moves in a linear fashion, So I should be able to follow him with my eyes. Karin, I need you to read his chakra and anticipate his moves for me now, stay with him and keep relaying his location to us at all times, understand?" Killer B came flying toward Sasuke from the debris above. "If you really think you can keep up!"

"Sasuke!" Miu called out, pushing herself off the ground. Sasuke stared into Killer B's eyes. In an instant Killer B fell to the ground behind Sasuke, he looked immobilized. Sasuke covered his right eye and turned to Killer B. Sasuke was sent flying from the arm of Killer B, blood gushed from his chest. "Sasuke!!!" Juugo ran toward Sasuke and caught him in midair. Miu and Karin ran toward them and crouched down beside him.

"Sasuke...,"

"He's severely injured...," Juugo said staring down at him. "His organs beneath are injured as well," Karin unzipped her shirt quickly. "Hold on, Sasuke!"

"Stop Karin, you don't the chakra to deal with this right now,"

"What are you going to do?" Miu asked as he lifted his hand over Sasuke's chest. "I'm going to merge with him since his body is compatible with my curse mark, it should work," Miu and Karin leaned over Sasuke as watched as Juugo's hand melted against his flesh. Karin turned to Killer B with a glare.

His body began to shift and large tentacles burst through his body. "Disillusionment and destruction await, that will be your fate when I transform into my true form, a beast you must meet! Yeah!"

They froze in awe, Miu held Sasuke close to her chest. "What is that?" She whispered. His body was that of a monster ox. Sasuke opened his eyes slightly and Miu sighed of relief. "Sasuke....Your okay...,"

"Sasuke, you gotta get up," Karin said. "Juugo can you...,"

They turned to Juugo but were surprised by the site. His body had changed into a little body. He was breathing heavily and his curse mark receding. "I won't let you die...You're a memento of Kimmimaro," Karin got up quickly. "Come on we've gotta run!" She shouted. The Eight-tails began to charge toward them but a large burst of water stopped him in his tracks. Suigetsu rose from a large pool of water in the shape of an animal. "You're a water style ninja, I knew it!" The Eight-tails slammed into Suigetsu over and over. "I'll take over you guys! Just run while you can!" Karin lifted Sasuke under her arm and they hurried away. Miu stared at Suigetsu before turning back. "Suigetsu...," The Eight-tails roared and lifted his head back, a large black ball of energy began to form. He launched the attack at Suigetsu and sent him flying, the rest of the team got caught in the blast and flew across the water.

Miu pulled herself from under the water and spotted Suigetsu beside her, his form rock hard. Miu gasped and rushed over towards him. The others rushed over beside her, crouching down over Suigetsu. "I can't believe Suigetsu's all messed up, we can't escape now, what do we do," Karin panted as she turned to Sasuke. Sasuke glanced at them all before closing his eyes. The Eight-tails roared and his tentacles flew toward them.

Suddenly, he was engulfed with large black flames. They were stunned from the flames, the tailed beast howled in pain, sinking his body into the water, trying desperately to extinguish the flames. The water began to move harshly with the movement of the beast. Juugo grabbed Suigetsu in his arms. Karin gasped, turned toward the three and pushed them back. The tentacle of the beast slammed down into the water and a large wave pushed them across the water. A tentacle came flying down toward Miu and Karin. Sasuke quickly sliced the tentacle in half with his Chidori blade.   
"Miu, Karin! Get away from their hurry!" Sasuke shouted. Miu and Karin got up from the water and ran towards Sasuke and Juugo. Another tentacle came flailing toward them.

'We aren't going to make it in time!' Miu lifted her hand and pushed Karin forward, she screamed and rolled away. Miu lifted her other hand and a force field formed around her. Miu gasped as the black flames scattered across her shield.

"Miu!!" Sasuke clenched his teeth together. Sasuke stared harshly at the black flames as they started to spread across Miu's shield. She closed her eyes and waited for the flames to engulf her body. Her eyes reopened when there was nothing, the flames began to disappear. 'Thank goodness, I thought I was a goner...,'

She turned to Sasuke as he held his head in his hands and wincing in pain. He looked back up and she turned to the tailed beast as the flames on his body also began to extinguish.

"Sasuke, we managed to beat him without killing him," Karin said. "It's over...," Sasuke walked forward and kneeled, taking his cloak off. He wrapped the cloak around Killer B and tied.

"We're done here, Miu, take us back," Sasuke ordered. She nodded and a large sphere lifted the team off the ground and into the sky.

On top of a large rock, overlooking the battle. Unbeknownst to them stood a single figure. Mio.


	27. Chapter 27 Humans

Miu sat down on her bed the moment her door opened. She turned to the door and watched Sasuke walk inside her room holding a tray. "Sasuke...Ah, I can carry that," Miu said standing up and walking over toward him. She grabbed the tray from his hands but she bumped her forehead against his hard chest. She held the tray steady and sighed of relief when the food didn't fall. "So-Sorry,"

"It's fine...," Sasuke stepped back and walked around her. Miu followed him to the table beside her and put the tray down. "How are your wounds?" They fight with Killer B, injured Sasuke severely. He didn't even come to her for healing. Sasuke stepped beside her and grabbed her wrist. Miu stood still and a blushed appeared on her cheeks. "Um...Do you need me to heal your wounds...I can just do it with my hands, so we really don't have to kiss...," She stammered her heart was pounding in her chest from the word. Kiss. Miu stepped back and Sasuke dropped her wrist. "Miu? What is it?" Sasuke questioned, taking a step forward. Miu's cheeks grew darker and she stepped back again. Sasuke reached for her hand again but she hid it behind her back. The air grew awkwardly silent. Sasuke frowned at Miu while looking her up and down. "Miu? Why are you avoiding me?" She flinched and looked at the floor. "I'm not...I just...I was...," Miu watched Sasuke's feet move. A cry left her lips when she felt a powerful force knock her onto the bed. Miu moaned from the impact, she stared up at Sasuke. He looked down at her with a blank gaze.

'D-Did Sasuke...Just trip...?' Miu and Sasuke didn't break their intense gaze. "Sasuke...? Can you see well?" He blinked. Miu grabbed his forearm and tried to sit up but she noticed he was lying on top of her. His weight got heavier. "Sasuke...Can you stand—," Her voice stopped inside her throat she froze. Sasuke was slowly leaned down closer and closer toward her face. Her heart picked up its previous pace, she could hear it in her ears. "Sa-Sasuke," Miu flinched when his lips pressed against her lips. She braced herself for the energy to disappear from his body but it didn't come. He pressed his lips against her harder, deeper. Miu squeezed his arms, trying to fight against the hard kiss. She turned her head to the side, finally tearing her lips from his. "Sasu-Sasuke! Wha-What are you doing?" He removed her hands from his arms and held them down above her head with one hand. Before she could speak again Sasuke forced his lips on hers. She watched his dark eyes change from black to red. Miu stared up at his dangerous red eyes and she blushed, as his lips grew deeper. His free hand slowly slid down her shoulder and tickled her skin through her clothes. Miu shivered from the light touch. His fingers slid over her jaw line. Her head was becoming dizzy, she could hardly process what was happening.

'Sasuke's kissing me...,'

Sasuke breathed softly, his fingers dance along the skin of her collar bone. He slid them back toward her jaw. Miu felt something gently hitting her cheek. Sasuke tapped her jaw softly, repeatedly. Miu's blush darkened and she did what he wanted, slowly her lips parted. The second they did she could feel his hot tongue slipping through. Miu moaned as his tongue rubbed against hers. The tip of his tongue slid along the roof of her tongue, she shivered and slowly closed her eyes. Sasuke felt her relaxing underneath him, their tongues danced together in a passionate yet rough kiss. Sasuke's hand moved lower to her hip. Miu's eyes opened when she felt his hand sliding under her dress. Sasuke stared down at her reaction as his reached the small bulb on her breast. He pinched, rolled and pushed on the bulb. Miu turned her head, stopping their kiss. "Sasuke...Don't touch!" She panted under him. His touched her nipple with light feathery touches. Miu felt her stomach warming up. She was used to that feeling, it was same when he kissed her to heal. This, however, was different. She felt a strange sensation between her legs. Sasuke released her hands and slid his other hand into her dress. Her dress was raised above her breast. She stared at Sasuke in shock, her body was completely exposed to him. Electricity ran through her body just as Sasuke took a long, lick of her flesh. "Sasuke!!"

A knock at her door made them stop.

"Hey! Miu, Sasuke's in there, right?" Suigetsu shouted from the other side of the door. Sasuke took his eyes off Miu and looked up at the door. "What is Suigetsu?" Sasuke spoke, his voice calm. "Karin wanted to talk to you, you got a minute?" Sasuke slid off Miu and stood on the floor. He adjusted his clothes and hovered over Miu. She stared at him with a dazed expression. Sasuke lowered his head again.

"Sasuke?" Suigetsu called. Sasuke stood up and walked toward the door. She heard the door close but her body didn't move. Everything played on rewind in her mind, a crimson mask covered her face. 'What was that?'

****

Miu stared up at the night sky from the top of a tree, the stars looked beautiful to her. Almost magical. 'I remember when brother and I used to stare up at the star with mother on nights like these...,' She smiled to herself as she fell into the heartwarming memories. 'But in the end, if things didn't happen as they did...I wonder where I'd be.... Would I have met Sasuke...Sasuke?' Her face flushed. Miu cupped her cheeks and shook her head, desperately trying to get rid of dirty thoughts. "Think about something else, Miu!" The tree she sat on began to shake violently. She screamed in surprise. The tree suddenly shot out of the ground and launched into the air. Miu screamed and landed on her back far across the ground. She clenched her teeth while hissing in pain. "What was that?" Her eyes opened to a pair of upside down legs standing in front of her. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head, Miu rolled onto her knee to get a better look at the figure, making sure she wasn't daydreaming.

"Mio...," She gazed at him in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to give you a warning,"

"Warn--," Mio made the ground underneath her rise and slam into her stomach. She felt the wind flying out of her. As she gasped for air, the earth shifted and wrapped around her wrist, holding her up and off the ground. 'I can't breathe!'

Mio stepped forward and grabbed her chin. Ge lifted her head and made her stare into his red eyes. "That guy, the one you call Sasuke....Don't get too close to him, a day will come when you will become bound to him, obeying every order, following him around like a dog on a leash, and if that day comes, I'll kill him...," Miu felt something snap when he spoke those words. She quickly found her voice and narrowed her eyes. "You touch him and I'll make sure to burn every inch of your body!" A smirk appeared on his face and he released his hold on her chin. "You'd kill your own brother for a worthless human...,"

"Wait, you said brother...Does that mean!?"

"I don't know why my memories are so shattered but I do remember my name and you....You are my sister,"

"Then you--,"

"But I am not the Mio you once knew...," The ground that held her began to fall apart and crumble into dirt and stone. Miu stood up on her own feet. "But wait....What do you mean? What you said before....Why did you call Sasuke a human? You made it sound like I...We aren't,"

"We are not humans....Nothing close to it," He muttered. Miu raised an eyebrow but clenched her fist. "Regardless of what you say, I will not let you harm Sasuke," Mio clicked his tongue and growled with an annoyed face. "IS that your last answer, Miu,"

"It is," The moment she answered, an invisible powerful force threw her back. She screamed as she slammed into the ground over and over until she was rolling. She stopped herself by calling forth a large rock. Her back slammed into it. She looked across the dark field, looking for Mio. A gasp left her throat as she felt him closing in on her. Miu threw herself forward and a loud crash echoed. 'He's fast, all I can do is dodge...,' Mio flew from the debris of rock and raised his fist, he came down toward Miu and she grabbed his wrist, her body spun bringing her legs around and slamming it into his side. Mio flew back from the impact of the kick. He raised his hands and the trees surrounding him began to stretch forward, creating large tree minions, their branches formed into wooden swords and their roots became legs. He controlled them like puppets. Miu stood in awe at the large trees.

'There's so many! I can't fight this many on my own....,' An idea came into her head like a lightbulb turning on. She glared at Miu who stood behind the trees. Miu watched as the tree began marched forward altogether. 'I'll have to use it...Sasuke did forbid me from using it but I have no choice.....,' Miu lifted her hands into the air. Mio frowned as he watched her carefully. A sudden feeling came over him and frowned. 'This mass amount of energy she has...Did she always possess this much? I'd better keep my distance...,' He turned to walk toward the forest the moment he took a step he slammed into an invisible wall. A force field. 'It's huge!!' He looked up at the wall, the large sphere was tall and covered a large part of the area. 'Sasuke stopped me from using this move against Killer B...But I can use it here...There's no one around....Sorry Sasuke,'

"Combustion,"

A light radiated from her body, turning her completely white.

****

Karin yawned from her seat at the large table. She glanced at Sasuke who was eating silently on the other side of the table. 'He's so cool even when he's eating,'

"Man, I didn't expect Miu to cook so well," Suigetsu smiled, leaning against his chair and holding his stomach. "Don't be such a pig, Suigetsu," Karin growled. Suigetsu glared in her direction. "What's with you?"

"Mind your own business,"

"Ah, I know what's bothering you...Is it because Sasuke and Miu were alone together—," Karin leaped across the table and slammed her feet down onto Suigetsu. "Would you shut up!!?"

"Suigetsu, why do you always have to provoke her," Juugo sighed. Sasuke continued to eat his dinner, ignoring the commotion beside him.

An enormous loud boom shook the hideout.

"What the hell was that?" Karin questioned.

"Probably a battle nearby....," Juugo replied. Sasuke stood up from his chair and frowned. "Karin, what's going on out there,"

"Why are you interested Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked pulling himself together. "If that battle is close by it could draw attention to our hideout,"

"No way...," Karin muttered.

"What is it, Karin," Juugo turned to her, she made a face as if she had seen a ghost. "I-I'm not sure but I think it's Miu...," Sasuke's eyes darted in her direction. "What do you mean you think?" Suigetsu barked, leaping to his feet.

"I sensed her for a second but don't sense her anymore...It's like she's....Like she's gone," Sasuke stood onto his feet. "Karin lead me to her, now,"

****

The team rushed through the trees. "Down there!" Karin shouted from behind Sasuke. He looked down at a huge crater in the ground, in the center of the crater was a single body. Miu. Sasuke hurried down the hole and kneeled beside her. She was covered in bruises and deep burns. "She's really beat up!" Suigetsu said with an alarmed expression. "Is she alright, Sasuke?" Juugo spoke, looked down at her body in his arms. "She's breathing but she's weak,"

"We need to get her back,"

"Up there!" Karin pointed at the top of the crater. Mio pushed himself off the ground with a loud groan. He coughed loudly and blood dripped from his mouth, he turned to Sasuke below him and glared harshly.

"She really tried to kill me...For a human like you...," He stood up onto his feet and held out his hand. "He's about to summon that big, ugly bird again," Suigetsu snarled, grabbing his sword. "Stop Suigetsu...," Sasuke ordered, holding Miu against his chest. "Let him go...," Mio's black bird appeared from a large poof of smoke. A strong gust of wind blew before he hopped onto the bird and began to take flight. Mio stared down into Sasuke's Sharingan. 'Next time...I'll get rid of you, for my sister's sake,'

"M..Mio...,"Miu whispered in her sleep.


End file.
